Announcements

The Williamson County Commissioners Court will hold a special session on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, online through a virtual meeting platform beginning at 9:00 a.m. The County Commissioners Court previously canceled its regular session that was to be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, due to Memorial Day. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell felt it was necessary to call this special session following time sensitive matters that arose after Tuesday’s meeting.  

This report is in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus impact on property values by the Williamson Central Appraisal District's Chief Appraiser Alvin Lankford.

Please log onto this link to read the report dated May 19, 2020 https://agenda.wilco.org/docs/2020/COM/20200519_1531/24180_2020_Williamson_County_Valuation_Update_5.19.20.pdf

For additional information on property taxes, please visit https://www.wcad.org/

Column by Commissioner Cook

Sheltering in place from COVID-19 has meant adaptations, postponements and planning for our four Williamson County Justices of the Peace.

When the first order to social distance by six feet went into effect, our JPs performed weddings with only the couples in their chambers; after the stay-at-home order, weddings went virtual.

For Judge KT Musselman of Precinct 1, who offices at the Wilco Jester Annex in Round Rock, working remotely resulted with him sitting on a couple’s coffee table via a cell phone one day to wed a sheltered-in-place couple seated on their sofa.

For another wedding ceremony, Musselman and guests from throughout the state and country watched from 15 computers via Zoom. These ceremonies have given him the idea of offering virtual weddings after they return to their office.

Musselman also has added new meaning to the traditional vows every time he says, “Keep each other in sickness—coronavirus or not—and in health.”

He’s also exploring how to go paperless, while his staff has rifled through 100 boxes of files to scan and preserve.

Judge Evelyn McLean, whose Precinct 3 office is in Georgetown, gave a whole new meaning to social distancing. She wed a couple at the Children’s Advocacy Center gazebo on the Inner Loop in Georgetown from her car via cell phone, as family members watched on Zoom. 

McLean’s staff quickly adapted to Softphone software to answer phones remotely. She also began offering more online services and forms to the public, including online dispute resolution for certain small claims cases. 

On or after June 1 until further updated1:

NOTE: Courts are not required to commence in-person proceedings on June 1 and should include in their discussions with the county judge/mayor and local health authority a proper date for commencing in-person hearings under the operating plan.

• Courts should use all reasonable efforts to conduct proceedings remotely.2 All proceedings, both essential and non-essential, should occur remotely (such as by teleconferencing, videoconferencing, or other means) unless litigants or other court participants are unable to successfully participate in a remote hearing for reasons beyond the court’s control. 3 Courts may need to conduct hybrid hearings in certain proceedings.
• Jury trials must not be held until further guidance is issued by the Office of Court Administration (expected to be released no later than mid-May for proceedings in the summer). It is anticipated that jury trials can safely resume in the summer; however, due to the unique nature of these proceedings, special attention must be provided to ensure the safety of jurors and others in these large group gatherings. Specific guidance to assist jurisdictions in planning resumption of jury proceedings will be issued soon.

Williamson County is preparing to start Phase III of the Forest North Drainage Improvement project located in Precinct 1. Construction is expected to begin late Spring 2020 and be completed before Spring 2022, weather permitting.