Precinct 3 commissioner candidates talk roads, taxes

Bastrop County Precinct 3 commissioner candidates Mark Meuth and Colton Stabeno, each vying to represent the southwestern portion of the county, laid out their platforms to voters last week on why they should be elected to office.

Democrat Meuth and Republican Stabeno met Oct. 20 at the Jerry Fay Wilhelm Center for the Performing Arts to make their last pitch to voters.

Both Meuth and Stabeno agreed on the major issues facing their constituents: increased growth, an adequate water supply and improved infrastructure. They also found areas of disagreement.

Meuth, who has worked with the Texas Department of Transportation for 28 years, was the only candidate — of all those running for a commissioner seat — to give a firm “no” to the idea of a unified road and bridge system for the county.

Currently, each of the county’s four precincts has its own road and bridge budget — determined largely by its miles of roads — and its own staff and equipment to handle maintenance in that particular precinct. A unified system would consolidate the budget, labor and equipment to be shared equally among the precincts.

Meuth said it would be costly to move staff around and inconvenient for many workers who reside in the precincts they monitor. Additionally, he said, each precinct’s staff is more familiar with the roads in their area. “I pay taxes in Precinct 3; I want that (money) going to Precinct 3,” Meuth said.

One of the main duties of a commissioner is overseeing the precinct’s road and bridge budget, of which Precinct 3 was allocated $1.8 million this fiscal year. Others, like Precinct 4, have a larger budget at $2.5 million.

“Whether a unified road system is the answer or not, I don’t have an answer to that,” Stabeno, the county’s habitat conservation plan administrator, said of a possible switch to a unified system. “It’s going to take a lot more research.”

However, Stabeno said it was definitely time to start that conversation, at the same time urging officials against any hasty decisions.

When pressed on the issue of taxes, Stabeno, who has worked with the county five years, first declared he was against any tax increases, but on rebuttal said there are instances where the county can’t avoid raising taxes.

“You’ve got different departments pulling at every cent that we have,” he said. “It is a difficult task in allocating those funds and keeping everyone happy and productive in the county. It’s a tough task. You certainly don’t want to raise taxes, but you want to be able to fund all the departments.”

Meuth said, rather than lowering taxes this year — from 61.9 cents per $100 valuation to 58.9 cents — he would have placed the additional revenue in a maintenance fund to help repair decaying roads and bridges and assist the sheriff ’s office.

He said he would seek grants to help the sheriff ’s office obtain equipment such as vehicles and bulletproof vests, as well as advocate for prisoners to do work in the county, saving other departments money.

Both candidates pushed for grant programs to help with disaster mitigation and recovery. With four major floods and one fire striking the county over a year, many voters were concerned how their next commissioner would stave off the next disaster.

Meuth pushed for better communication and personal responsibility, urging residents to clear brush around their properties to protect against fires. Stabeno leaned heavily on assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For localized flooding that occurs throughout the county, many residents have attributed that problem to poor drainage. As a solution, Stabeno said, he would take advantage of FEMA grants to address the issue. Meuth said he would look into how subdivisions in the county are constructed to decrease impervious cover that creates flooding in low-lying neighborhoods.

Whoever is elected in November will replace outgoing Precinct 3 Commissioner John Klaus, who decide against re-election.