Bryan ISD School Board Members Thank The Bryan City Council For Continued Financial Assistance

Brazos County Commission Approves 2025 Fiscal Year Budget And Tax Rate On A Divided Vote After Divided Public Comments

Brazos County commissioners approve the 2025 fiscal year budget and property tax rate after hearing from six public speakers. Five of the six supported the majority vote to increase the tax rate by one cent. The 4-1 commission vote supported county judge Duane Peters proposal. Steve Aldrich was opposed. Peters said the FY 25 county budget also spends $90 million dollars in savings. $75 million is going towards capital projects and $15 million is for maintenance and operations. Peters also said there is a possibility of a tax rate increase in the fiscal year 2026 budget. Click below to hear comments from the September 10, 2024 Brazos County commission regular meeting. Listen to “Divided public comments precede Brazos County commissioners approving the fiscal year 2025 budget and property tax rate on a divided vote” on Spreaker.

Brazos Valley Groundwater District Board To Hear Competing Applications

Thursday’s meeting of the Brazos Valley groundwater district board (September 12) includes two contested applications. The Texas A&M system opposes the application from a group who wants to export water from Robertson County to Travis, Williamson, Bell, and/or Milam counties. And the group wanting to ship water to the west opposes the system’s application to drill a well on the RELLIS campus. RELLIS campus director Kelly Templin says the water exporters want to pump almost the same amount of water that is used by the combined total of A&M and the cities of College Station and Bryan. Both applicants say they have concerns about the impact that the competing applications will have on the underground water aquifer. Thursday’s groundwater district board meeting starts at two p.m. at the district office in downtown Hearne. Click HERE to be directed to the Brazos Valley groundwater district website home page, which has links to a webstream of Thursday’s meeting and documents associated with the applications from the Texas A&M system and those wanting to export water out of Robertson County. Click below to hear comments from Kelly Templin, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver. Listen to “Brazos Valley groundwater district board to hear competing applications” on Spreaker.

Brazos County Rural Fire Chiefs Discussing The Return Of A Burn Ban

Brazos County commissioners are told drought conditions are back. Deputy emergency management coordinator Jason Ware told commissioners he and three of the county’s four rural fire chiefs are recommending no burn ban at this time for areas outside of city limits. Commissioners expressed no opposition to reviewing the drought status on a weekly basis. Ware said only the south tip of Brazos County is not considered to be in drought situation. Over the seven previous days, Ware said there were three or four grass fires that burned about seven acres. Fire chiefs told Ware that the fires were not hard to control and were easily contained. Click below to hear comments from Jason Ware during the September 10, 2024 Brazos County commission meeting.