While listening to the Somervell County Hospital District meeting of 5/26/2016, heard Ray Reynolds suggest that there be no committee assignments until 6 months have passed. That is, no separate Budget and Finance committee meetings, no Building committee meetings, no Quality committee meetings, etc. One reason given for this was that there were 2 people who carried over from the last board, versus 5 newbies. To my utter surprise, every single one of the board members voted for this! In other words, rather than the board members being considered smart enough to learn, particularly in a crisis situation time, how to jump in and find out for themselves in meetings that can be far more focused and targeted, they opted to allow Ray Reynolds to provide a view at regular board meetings. It also seems to me to be a slight on the intelligence levels of the new board members. 6 months is fully 1/4 of the entire time each of these will be sitting on the board, and, really, they want to give up their mandate to be board members who look into and discuss things in depth? Honestly, of ALL the committees that should be considered, isn't the one that deals with overseeing money the most important? Why else the heck be on a board if you're not going to look out for the taxpayers? Especially during this time of crisis! 

Besides that, no one looked at the dang bylaws?? 4.3 c says that the B&F committee is supposed to meet at least quarterly, and section 4.3 b says that the Committee advises the administrator on the proposed annual budget for capital expenditures and hospital operations For these people to vote against having and being on AT LEAST a B&F committee violates the bylaws. How the heck, when it comes down to voting for a new tax rate, can they even DO IT when there's a requirement that the B&F look at the proposed budget FIRST. (The tax rate in 2014 was discussed in August, which is well within the 6 months that Reynolds suggested there be no committees. Sheesh. (Didn't see Darrell Best here tonight, maybe he's too busy hawking real estate, but maybe he needs to go run down and file one of his silly petitions to remove all these board members from office for violating the bylaws-hah) 

What gets me about this is that Ron Hankins, who has a very poor track record of being correct about any issue, supposedly should know or at least reference the bylaws.Haha, what am I saying? Hankins didn't even care enough to follow the bylaw that REQUIRED that the administrator, ie, Ray Reynolds, be reviewed and evaluated annually. Anyway, checking the bylaws at this meeting would have taken an additional couple of minutes, it's not a telephone book, and,, although Hankins didn't bring his own copy, Pat Bruce had his. (Good for him, appears NO ONE ELSE brought them)  Perhaps in the future, the board members will check into things for themselves.

Not a good start.