Galveston County Commissioners Court voted to move forward on a pilot project to test a new P-Card system intended to streamline the purchasing system for elected officials and appointed county employees. Listen  Download

"I see this as an opportunity to save the county a significant money by avoiding high costs of very low purchase orders," said County Auditor Cliff Billingsley.

"We are a lighthouse account," said County Purchasing Agent Bruce Hughes.  "We are shining a light across the industry."

Hughes said it costs between $15 to $45, "depending on the time spent on it," to cut one purchase order.

"This is just going to be a card," Hughes said.  "When it hits the system the auditor sees it, the department head sees it, they approve it, it's paid."

Hughes and Billingsley said safeguards are in place to make sure unauthorized purchases are not made with the P-Cards.

The commissioners court voted 5-0 to approve a resolution asking the Texas Legislature to impose a three percent cap on increases in taxable value of homesteads by central appraisal districts.  Listen  Download

Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough asked that the resolution be amended to include a request that the legislature not impose any additional unfunded mandates on county governments.

Although the vote was unanimous, a final resolution, with the language added, will be on the agenda for final action at next week's meeting of the commissioners court.

The commissioners court approved a $52,021,246 change order to cover account deficits.  Yarbrough, who said it is the largest change order in the history of the county, explained that $46 million of the total is related to a bond refunding issue.  Listen  Download

The commissioners court voted to defer a request for refund of $2,846.44 in penalty, interest and attorney fees for delinquent taxes on property at Holiday Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula.  Anita Cook explained that she was delinquent because she inherited the property from her late husband; and events related to the funeral distracted her attention from the issue. Listen  Download

Yarbrough noted that the total owed on the property, including taxes and penalties, is $4,850; but the CAD values the property at $4,400.

"It is probably a bad investment to pay the taxes on it," Yarbrough said.