Tax assessor/collector begins vehicle registration pilot program

The Williamson County Tax Assessor/Collector's Office will partner with Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to pilot a program offering remote locations for vehicle registration renewals in addition to the tax assessor/collector's offices.

Only vehicle registration renewals will be available at the remote locations.

This pilot will be held at Precinct 4 Commissioner Ron Morrison's Office, 350 Exchange Blvd., Ste. 100, Hutto, on April 27 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The program is open to all Williamson County residents with vehicle registration renewals for April and May.

Applicants must present renewal notices, current proof of insurance and pay by check or credit card. However, there is a 2.85 percent service fee for credit card transactions.

Randy Rodgers named director of fleet maintenance division

Randy Rodgers has been selected as Fleet Maintenance Division director of Williamson County's Department of Infrastructure.

Rodgers brings more than 25 years of fleet maintenance and management experience to the position. He served as the deputy director of the division for the last four years where he directed the county's equipment life cycle management program and assisted in the upgrading of the county's fueling systems including the inclusion of propane as a fueling alternative.

Williamson County to participate in regional health care partnership

Williamson County is collaborating with other counties, local governments and health care providers to create a regional health care partnership.

In December 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program 1115 Waiver, which aims to improve the Medicaid system in the state and make it more cost-effective.

Bride Roberts, accreditation coordinator with the Williamson County and Cities Health District, said the change makes up to $29 billion in federal matching funds available to Texas over five years. Under the old model, the funds would have been no more than $15 billion, Roberts said.

As a part of the program, every county in Texas has to be in a health care region, but participating financially is optional, Long said. Commissioners approved a proposed list of counties to go in a region with Williamson County on March 6 that included Burnet, Llano, Milam and other northern counties.

Majority of Williamson County home values decline or remain the same

According to a news release by the Williamson Central Appraisal District, 51 percent of residential properties reflect a decrease in value, 36 percent show an increase and 13 percent remained within $1,000 of their 2011 valuation. This is the fourth consecutive year the majority of values have decreased or remained the same.

Despite the dip in values, there were more than 2,900 new homes built in the county in 2011, offsetting the decrease and causing the preliminary average home market value to rise less than 1 percent.

Average home valuation in 2011: $186,416

Average home valuation in 2012: $187, 451