Big decisions made in 2015



  • Mental health care
    The Commissioners Court advocated for an integrated health care system that would combine mental and physical care as the county’s mental health care system, NorthSTAR, was phased out. The transition to a new system continues as officials work to supply more comprehensive care for indigent mental health patients.

  • District and county courts
    The county added two district courts and one county court at law plus the associated infrastructure for the courts. Two interim governor-appointed judges have been assigned for the district courts, and the county court at law currently operates with a visiting judge. An election will be held in 2016 to determine permanent judges for all three courts. The primary election will serve as the county court at law judge’s election. The other two judges will be voted upon in November.


Top issues for 2016



  • Retirement funding
    County Judge Keith Self said he does not believe the county’s retirement system will earn the full 8 percent anticipated. He said he feels the court will have to find a way to come up with the extra dollars the retirement system will need. He said he does not yet have the final numbers although he anticipates it will be a discussion held in 2016.

  • Permitting rights
    Self said permitting rights within the unincorporated portions of the county is more of a city issue, but there may come a time in 2016 when the court will have to step in to protect the private property rights of county residents. Should that time come, the court will discuss its level of involvement, he said, but the court has not yet made any decisions on the matter. He said he felt the cities would become far more aggressive in annexation in the meantime.


Meetings


The court meets at 1:30 p.m. every Monday at the Collin County Administration Building, 2300 Bloomdale Road, Ste. 4192, McKinney.
www.co.collin.tx.us.



Terms and compensation


Each commissioner and the county judge serve four-year terms. The commissioners earn $95,228.51 annually, and the county judge earns $140,029.05 annually.



Video coverage


Meeting minutes and recordings can be found online at www.co.collin.tx.us.