The Bottom Line (Ironically at the Top)
The most noticeable item today is an $18.66M transfer from the General Fund to the Road & Bridge Fund, which sounds like a huge spend, but it’s actually just statutory bookkeeping shuffling. Read on for the boring details. The Court will also vote on a $1.37M cooling tower replacement, a $587K network load-balancer purchase, and nearly $800K in additional landscape-design work on the courthouse expansion, plus discuss the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTWMD) acquiring easements across two county-owned parcels for a 48-inch wastewater pipeline. Notable consent spending totals $3.03M.
How to Participate
Review the full agenda here. Meetings start at 1:30 p.m. at the Jack Hatchell Administration Building, 4th Floor, 2300 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, TX 75071. You can sign up to speak at Commissioners Court meetings in person by filling out a blue card shortly before the meeting. You may alternatively share your thoughts by emailing the Commissioners Court through their contact info here. Videos of the meetings can be viewed here.
Commissioners Court Business (General Discussion Items)
- Transfer of $18,663,622 from the General Fund to the Road & Bridge Fund — this is the single biggest number on today’s agenda, but read the fine print before you reach for your torches and pitchforks.
This isn’t $18.66M of new spending; it’s just a revenue reallocation. State law requires the county’s share of vehicle sales tax and vehicle title fees to be deposited in the General Fund first. Those dollars were already budgeted for Road & Bridge in the budget, but they were erroneously deposited straight into Road & Bridge. The auditor re-routed it to the General Fund, and now the Court is re-re-routing it to Road & Bridge. You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about. - North Texas Municipal Water District easement acquisition — easements on two county-owned parcels for NTMWD’s 48-inch Stover Creek Force Main, a wastewater pipeline that feeds the Sister Grove treatment facility.
The NTWMD is spending more than $178M on wastewater (sewage) treatment improvements. Just remember, this stuff flows downhill, y’all. - Parks & Open Space 2023 Bond funding — reserve $2 million of the upcoming $4 million bond series for the Bloomdale Campus Trail plan and Myers Park.
Phases 1 and 2 of the Bloomdale Campus Trail are estimated to cost $5M. $1M was already reserved from 2025 funding, and an additional $2M is proposed now from the 2023 bonds. That’s $3M committed against a $5M plan. I would ask where the rest of the funding will come from. - Dispatch fee billing for FY2027 — this will set how the county’s dispatch costs get split among the entities it dispatches for.
This is consideration of the allocation formula—how the cost gets divided between cities/entities. - Title Specialist position + $28,060 budget amendment — releasing contingency funds to fill a Tax Office position the Court approved back in the FY2025 budget.
This is the last of three positions authorized in FY2025 for the Tax Assessor-Collector’s office related to House Bill 718, temp-tag and license plate reform. Illustrating the Tax Assessor-Collector’s role as Tax Protector, Scott Grigg even trimmed a $1,173 phone line because the workstation already has one. That kind of line-item scrutiny should be the norm. - Sheriff’s vehicle configuration items — the Sheriff’s request to retain the current K9 vehicle configuration and to update the configuration of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and patrol vehicles used for traffic and DWI enforcement.
- NCTCOG Executive Board monthly update — the County Judge’s regular North Central Texas Council of Governments report, with 2026 regional population estimates attached.
Executive Session
Executive session is a closed meeting authorized by Texas law for discussions involving real estate, personnel, pending litigation, or attorney-client matters. Any action taken must return to open session.
- General executive session reserved under Texas Government Code Chapter 551 — no specific topic itemized on this agenda.
Notable Consent & FYI Items
Total of $3,028,112.86 of your money in proposed expenses
- Cooling Tower No. 2 Replacement — Preferred Mechanical Group, LLC — $1,366,619. Replacing a major piece of building HVAC infrastructure.
I would like these dollar amounts to be explicitly stated on the agenda item, so the public doesn’t have to drill into the details. - F5 Load Balancer System Replacement — Netsync Network Solutions, Inc. — $587,520. A five-year replacement of core network load-balancing hardware, bought through state cooperative contracts.
- Amendment No. 2 — Architectural Services, Courthouse Addition — $796,950. Additional funds for final design services on the courthouse campus landscape.
- Amendment No. 17 — Munis API Toolkit — $56,262 in year one, then $45,462 every year after. A toolkit so county IT can build custom links between the Munis financial system and other county software.Tax Refunds — $210,761. Money returned to taxpayers who overpaid. That’s what I like to see.
- Change Order No. 30 — Healthcare, Medical Examiner & Parking Garage (FYI, no vote) — $19,518 this round, for a brick-angle extension and an epoxy mezzanine floor.
- Also on the agenda as a mandated item: a first-offender juvenile diversion services agreement with Grace to Change, providing prevention and intervention services for first-time youth offenders through August 2027.
How to Engage
- Watch: Meetings are broadcast and archived through Collin County’s video portal at collincountytx.gov.
- Speak: Fill out a blue card at the County Clerk’s office before the 1:30 PM start.
- Read: The full agenda with linked attachments.
- Contact: Commissioners Court members and the County Judge are listed at the County’s Commissioners Court page.
Remember, for public meetings like this, the homework is tedious, the room is mostly-empty, and the people who do show up are the ones who end up shaping things. So keep showing up.
— Shelby
