February 25, 2026 - Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison stated during Commissioners' Court February 25, 2026, that she would be implementing a burn ban on the day of the meeting.
"I'm going to do it today, and that way it'll be on the agenda next week to ratify it, or we can drop it next week," said Judge Harbison.
Judge Harbison said she has heard from four different fire departments in the county and in the northern end of the county fire departments there have had increased difficulty with residents burning and letting the fires get out of control.
Luciana Barr, Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator, commented that the wind is high, is drying out grasses and it's just not a good idea to burn. She also said that other counties and parishes in the vicinity have burn bans in place, as of the meeting.
"It's been advised to us through TDEM, like I said I've talked to four fire chiefs and while the indexes are low to mod[erate] right now, it's not a bad idea and if in a week we've got three to four inches of rain we can let it drop," said Judge Harbison.
The commissioners approved seeking bids on a surplus bridge that Precinct 1 Road and Bridge is selling.
Roscoe McSwain, Commissioner Precinct 1, said that he wanted to give two weeks for bids to be received.
The motion by Commissioner McSwain was to accept the bids by Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 2pm. The motion received a second from Tom Bellmyer, Commissioner Precinct 4, and it carried with all in favor.
Ann Blackwell, County Treasurer, discussed the County Investment Policy with the commissioners.
"We have to review this every year and I'll send it out to TexPool, Investar which was formerly First National Bank and Farmer's [State Bank], anybody where we have investments," said Blackwell. "I did make a few changes, took a new class, got some new information and just wanted it to be updated."
Some of the updates Blackwell indicated were to help obtain maximum return on some investments.
She explained that in the old policy the investment committee wasn't identified and she has added that the committee is made up of the county treasurer, county judge, and the county auditor.
The policy also now explained the responsibility of some of the funds.
Shannon Metcalf, Commissioner Precinct 2, moved to approve the county investment policy and to adopt the changes that have been made. Commissioner Bellmyer offered a second to his motion and it carried with all in favor.
In reference to a resolution to Designate County Investment Officer, Commissioner McSwain moved to name the County Treasurer as such, and his motion received a second from Commissioner Metcalf. The motion carried by vote with all in favor.
During the Commissioners' Court Reports portion of the meeting, Commissioner McSwain commented that there was a fire in his precinct yard dumpster on the week before the meeting. He explained he was contacted in the evening about the fire and the fire department reported that the fire had apparently been smoldering for hours.
"Things like that keep happening, that's going to continue pushing me as Precinct 1 to do away with the dumpster, I hate that," said McSwain.
Racial profiling reports from the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, District Attorney's Office, and Constable Precinct 3 Roy Cheatwood were presented to the court as well as racial profiling exempt status from Zach Warr, Constable Precinct 1, and Jamie Hagler, Constable Precinct 2. According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, agencies that do not make motor vehicle stops in the routine performance of duties must fill out the one page online exempt status report.
All racial profiling reports and exempt status filings were approved by the commissioners through motion and vote with all in favor.
Several agenda items relating to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds utilized by the county for several expenditures were approved by the commissioners and Judge Harbison indicated these were necessary for the closeout of the program. They included a “Standards of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy,” “Document Management and Records Retention Policy,” “Local General Procurement Policies and Procedures Statement,” and “Financial Management Policies and Procedures Policy.”
All items relating to the ARPA program were approved through motion and vote by the commissioners with all in favor.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:13am.
Agenda items approved during the meeting include: 1. Pay weekly expenses. 2. Pay current payroll. 3. Precinct 1 to advertise for sealed bids for one (1) surplus bridge. 4. Record the Racial Profiling Exempt Status for Constable Pct. 1 Zach Warr. 5. Record the Racial Profiling Exempt Status for Constable Pct. 2 Jamie Hagler. 6. Record the Racial Profiling Report for Constable Pct. 3 Roy Cheatwood. 7. Record the Racial Profiling Report for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. 8. Record the Racial Profiling Report for District Attorney, Karren Price. 9. “Standards of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy” for the ARPA program close out. 10. “Document Management and Records Retention Policy” for ARPA close out. 11. “Local General Procurement Policies and Procedures Statement” for ARPA close out. 12. “Financial Management Policies and Procedures Policy” for ARPA close out. 13. Annual review of County Investment Policy with the following possible actions: a. Adopt Resolution of Annual Review of Investment Policy b. Resolution to Designate County Investment Officer 14. Record the 2025 Continuing Education Hours for County Clerk, Jennifer Fountain. 15. Adjourn at 10:13am.
