Latest news with #SmithCounty
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Smith County Commissioners Court schedules public hearings to discuss tax rates
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– The Smith County Commissioners Court has called a special meeting for Friday morning to discuss the 2026 fiscal year budget and tax rates. Shelby County Sheriff's Office seeks public's help to find missing woman During Tuesday's regular meeting, the court discussed the proposed tax rate and scheduled public hearings. Officials also took a vote to set the proposed tax rate and unanimously voted to keep it the same as last year, which is 0.364231 cents. Following the meeting, public hearings to discuss the proposed tax rates and 2026 budget have been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 2. Smith County Judge Neal Franklin spoke about how he is opposed to increasing the tax rate.'I don't want to increase that tax rate. We have a lot of residents in the same fix as our employees,' Franklin said. Franklin would like to see a three percent cost-of-living raise for county employees this year and stated that departments have been working to cut costs where they can. You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24/7 on your smart TV our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed—Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Henderson County Judge speaks out against senate bill limiting local taxes
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) – Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney testified against Senate Bill 9 in Austin on Aug. 1, saying the bill would hurt the county's ability to fund public services. Smith County Commissioners Court schedules public hearings to discuss tax rates Senate Bill 9 would lower the amount that most counties and city's can raise taxes without voter approval from 3.5% to 2.5%. McKinney testified against the bill in a public meeting of the Texas Senate's Local Government Committee that was livestreamed on Aug. 1. His full testimony can be seen in the video at the top of this article. McKinney said that the county's population has grown by 6% since 2020 and that the county has been able to continue funding its services by trying to bring in as much revenue as it can. 'We are debt-free, by the way, have been since 2014,' McKinney said. 'We have 17 volunteer fire departments, 18 police departments, three school districts, depending on our emergency communication system that we just put into place three years ago at a cost of $7.2 million. We have done this by trying to leverage every other revenue that we can bring in.' McKinney explained that the county makes money from keeping federal inmates at their newly expanded jail, but they rely on the regular 3.5% tax increase to keep up with their recurring costs. 'We expanded our jail by 250 beds at $49,000 a bed in 2007. We are now reaping the benefits of that because we are warehousing federal inmates at not so much profit, but at a good new revenue stream,' McKinney said. 'It's always about the cash flow and we have leveraged that to continue to provide these services and continue to expand what we can. But we have relied on the 3.5% to meet our recurring costs. This is how we've been able to build out our capabilities by expanding our other revenue lines.' According to McKinney, they're able to build new facilities, but without the 3.5% they won't be able to actually afford to staff those facilities. The Latest: US import taxes hit levels not seen in nearly 100 years 'What's happening to us is that our 3.5% is now getting to the point where we can build anything, but we can't staff,' McKinney said. SB 9 passed the Texas Senate on Wednesday in an 18 to 3 vote after it passed out of the committee in a 4 to 1 vote. The bill's House companion is called House Bill 9, which was filed on Monday but won't get a vote unless the Texas House regains a quorum. The bill was authored by the chairman of the local government committee, State Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston. Bettencourt issued a statement on Wednesday saying the bill's intent was to bring property tax rate increases in line with the rate school districts use. 'Simply put, cities and counties have been raising property tax bills 3 times faster than schools, even after we reformed the system in 2019,' Bettencourt said. 'SB 9 closes that gap to make property tax rates go down as values go up, saving taxpayer money to deliver real, lasting property tax relief.' You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24/7 on your smart TV our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed—Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson now scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16 in shaken baby syndrome case
Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is set to be executed on Oct. 16, a judge announced during a hearing on Wednesday. Attorney General Ken Paxton requested the hearing to discuss a new execution date after numerous delays. Roberson, who was convicted of capital murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, was present at the hearing and sat next to his attorney. His appearance in the Smith County courtroom surprised many of those inside who were not expecting the Texas Death Row inmate to be transferred from a Southeast Texas prison. The 58-year-old watched his attorney make a passionate plea to a judge asking to hold off setting a new execution date until pending appeals can be ruled on by higher courts over whether Roberson deserves a new trial. Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said she will seek a stay of the execution. "Texans should be outraged that the court has scheduled an execution date for a demonstrably innocent man," she said. "Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy. Robert did not kill her. There was no crime." Prosecutors alleged that Roberson killed the child by violently shaking her — a diagnosis commonly referred to at the time as shaken baby syndrome. In its latest appeal filed in February, Roberson's legal team said that based on new evidence, "no rational juror would find Roberson guilty of capital murder; and unreliable and outdated scientific and medical evidence was material to his conviction." The new evidence includes statements from pathologists that state the girl's death was not a homicide and who question the reliability of conclusions by the medical examiner on the cause of death. "You ask why now there's approximately 200 people on death row in Texas and there's one pending execution date," said Sween. "There's no reason to be setting a date for Mr. Roberson, who is among the few who has live appeals on a very serious issue." Roberson was in a holding cell on Oct. 17, 2024, a few feet away from America's busiest death chamber in Huntsville, waiting to receive a lethal injection when he was granted an execution stay after a group of Texas lawmakers issued a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee several days after he was scheduled to die. The Texas Supreme Court ruled in November that although the subpoena was valid, it could not be used to circumvent a scheduled execution. Roberson never testified before the House committee as Paxton's office blocked efforts to have him speak to lawmakers. Roberson's attorney spoke to reporters outside the courthouse with a number of exonerated murderers standing behind her. "It's not a freak occurrence, we've had 200 people in this country exonerated from death rows because they subsequently have been found innocent," Sween said. "Truth is gonna come out, Robert's gonna come out on top." While Roberson supporters plan to continue their efforts to spare his life, Dallas County has spent $20,000 for an independent review of the victim's autopsy, which was conducted by the Dallas County Medical Examiners' office. County Judge Clay Jenkins said that review is ongoing.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Yahoo
Officials investigating after Smith County hit-and-run leaves bicyclist dead
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– Texas Highway Patrol is investigating after a hit-and-run left a bicyclist dead on Thursday in Smith County. According to DPS, during the early morning hours on Highway 64 near Big Oak Bay Road there was a bicyclist that was struck by an unknown vehicle and the vehicle did not stop. The rider was found dead and the department is investigating this case as a fatal hit-and-run. Woman stabbed 9 times in East Texas home, officials say East Texans are encouraged to contact the Texas Highway Patrol in Tyler if they have any information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Continuous rainfall damages, closes several East Texas roads
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — Continuous days of rain have pummeled East Texas this week and the roads are paying the price, according to officials. Cloudy water found in Lufkin is safe to drink, city officials say 'We've seen a lot of damage to the roads, the rain, just the sheer amount of rain we've had,' Smith County Commissioner Precinct 2, John Moore said. The rain left its mark by closing at least five roads in Smith County on Wednesday. The rain is also affecting already damaged roadways, according to Moore. 'You had roads that were compromised because of gophers, leafcutter ants, and other things that nature puts on our roadways, that's bad enough, but some of this flooding has been bad enough that it really wouldn't have mattered what was going on,' Moore said. He explains that the amount of rain is too much for the already saturated areas, leading to compounding road damage. 'It's just too much water and it causes a lot of damage,' Moore said. 2025 State of Economy event held in Longview discuss new laws to help East Texans It's not only been an issue for the county, but roads maintained by the state. The Texas Department of Transportation shared it's been preparing for these continuous rainy days, saying it all starts with road planning. 'There's a lot that goes into it,' TxDOT Public Information Officer Jeff Williford said. 'You know, any time we have a new roadway or new construction project, one of the things we look at is drainage.' TxDot has crews monitoring, evaluating and closing down roads along with weekly maintenance on bridges and culverts in the area to prevent future harm. 'If a road does flood or if there is high water, our crews will be there,' Williford said. 'They'll be monitoring the situation. We'll have our lights on, our blue and yellow lights warning drivers.' Williford urged drivers to stay aware with the continued downpour. Historic Marshall church begins demolition process 'Be extra careful, and for certain don't try to cross over a flooded road or drive through rushing water,' Williford said. 'It can be very powerful. Flash flooding is the leading weather-related cause of death in Texas.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
