State proposal to put Taylor County in charge of veterans cemetery gets cool reception

Which of two counties might shepherd Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene —Taylor County, Jones County or both — is  unresolved, despite recent proposals from the state that could cover costs.

Dr. John Kelley, deputy director for all four of Texas' veterans cemeteries, met with Taylor County commissioners Tuesday to gauge interest in a contract to maintain the property, located at 7457 West Lake Road, with the state's help.

The cemetery is in Jones County.

Commissioners took no action on the proposal.

The state has made previous agreements with Mission and Nueces County, where Corpus Christi's veteran cemetery is located, Kelley said.

Jones County officials recently declined the offer, Kelley said, because "they were afraid they simply didn't have the staff to be able to support what we need at the cemetery."

However, County Judge Dale Spurgeon "did indicate he was willing to do an interlocal agreement," he said.

Texas also has a veterans cemetery in Killeen.

Budgetary beginnings

The concept presented to commissioners Tuesday "begins with a budget," Kelley said, to pay for employee salaries and consumable supplies, such as office products.

The state would pay for any capital improvements or repairs more than $1,000, while the county would provide staff and supplies.

The state would build a budget and contract with the county, paying them "exactly that amount of money," Kelley said.

"It is meant to be a zero cost proposal for the county," he said.

In creating contacts with Mission and Nueces County, the state has been able to save taxpayers around $300,000 and $500,000, respectively, he said.

He expected similar savings to that for Mission to arise from Taylor County's agreement, asking commissioners to consider a one-year contract.

"At the end of that year, we can both walk away from it if it's not working out, or we can pursue a longer, three-year type of contract," Kelley said.

Commissioner concerns

Commissioner Chuck Statler and others raised concerns about available workforce in the county when so many businesses already are having hiring difficulties —and questioned why Jones County wouldn't take on the active role.

"The veterans cemetery is located in the city of Abilene near (Lake Fort Phantom Hill), but it's in Jones County," Statler said.

Statler cited hiring concerns with Taylor County's law enforcement segment, which has 35 openings in different areas, including patrol, transport, corrections and dispatch.

"(And) I don't think any of the precincts are full staff right now," he said. "I think each of us have openings."

Commissioners also expressed skepticism about a state agency asking for county assistance.

Commissioner Randy Williams said the "state" in the cemetery's name indicated who should be responsible for it.

"We get this all the time," he said, citing Child Protective Service as an example. "... We continue to be asked to do stuff that the state should be taking care of on their level."

Williams said he had a hard time wrapping his head around asking people in the rural parts of the county to pay for a cemetery "that's not even in our county."

And there always will be unexpected costs in any proposed budget, he said.

"I'm not willing to do that to my taxpayers," Williams said. "I'd just like to see the state step up and be responsible for the things they create and then support them on down the road, rather than asking smaller jurisdictions who are already struggling budgetarily."

A bit of history

Until 2018, the Abilene cemetery was operated by a contracted vendor, Kelley said.

"In 2018, things started going a little bit awry," he said, prompting the termination of that agreement the next year.

That created an immediate issue, he said — namely "how do you continue to bury and honor our veterans and their families?"

The answer, he said, was found in the state's contracted temporary employment agency.

"(We) paid for a bunch of those folks to operate the cemetery for us," he said. "The Abilene cemetery has continued to operate under that model."

Things began to change in 2020, when an "better idea" was hatched to create relationships with local governments, Kelley said.

The first such agreement was forged with Mission in August 2020. Once that was successful, Nueces County was approached.

Working with counties has been particularly advantageous from the state's perspective, Kelley said, because of the presence of local veterans service officers, something not found at a city level.

Taylor County has a VSO, he said, one "already involved in all kinds of veteran information campaigns, talking with local veteran groups, getting the word out about a whole bunch of veterans issues."

More: Memorial Day ceremony returns to Abilene veterans cemetery while expansion underway

Not a burden?

Because county staff in areas such as human resources or procurement would spend time supporting the cemetery, the agreement would contain allowances to pay for such help, he said.

"We don't want this to be an imposition on your costs," Kelley told commissioners.

The city of Mission is paid about $750,000 per year to provide personnel and supply items, he said. Nueces County's contract is more, reflecting a larger staff, Kelley said.

The Abilene cemetery has nine full-time personnel and one part-time employee, he said.

Under the proposed agreement, existing employees, all currently considered temporary,  would be converted into county employees.

"We're going to pay for their wages and their benefits packages," Kelley said.

The funding "seems like reimbursement," he said, because it is based on invoices.

More: Jimmy DeFoor, 75, had heart for military veterans because he was one

Ready to work?

Cathy Taff, human resources director for the county, told commissioners she believed there might not be much difficulty hiring workers for the cemetery, especially since the area has a large veteran population.

"Veterans are usually pretty excited about having veterans' jobs," she said. "I don't really think there would be quite the problem ... as there would be to hire people to work at the jail."

Advertising costs would be included, Kelley said, should commissioners want to pursue the plan.

"We'll put in the budget what we need to make sure that this proposal is a success," he said.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: State proposes Taylor County manage Abilene veterans cemetery