CITY & COUNTY
News from Tomball & Harris and Montgomery counties
Judge, staff in place as County Court at Law 6 prepares for cases
County Court at Law 6 will begin taking cases in September. The court was approved in 2021 to ease the burden on other county courts. CARRYING THE CASELOAD
handled misdemeanor cases with each one taking the responsibility for two years. “[The judges] felt the need for a juvenile home court was there, so they created CCL 6 with a dual docket,” Valdez said. “We’ve had three amazing judges take the docket, but [the new judge] will help with consistency and continuity.” Commissioners Court documents obtained by Community Impact Newspaper showed the planned staff will include a court administrator, a court coordinator, a court reporter, two court clerks and a staff attorney in addition to the judge. The total cost of implementation will be $120,491.90 from the fiscal year 2021-22 budget, while the expected impact on the FY 2022-23 budget for salaries and benefits is $652,000, according to Budget Officer Amanda Carter.
The year County Court at Law 5 was added, the newest county court at law at the time 2007 The projected impact of County Court at Law 6 on the county’s fiscal year 2022-23 budget $652,000 The number of staffers approved, including Judge Scharlene Valdez, for the new court 7
BY JISHNU NAIR
Services Department has helped prepare her for the new role. “I’m very ready to continue with the fine work the county attorney’s office has done, ... and I’m eager to implement new policies and proce- dures where they see fit,” Valdez said. “I believe my family law background and my CPS background will bode very well for this court.” The court was created in early 2021 to lower the average civil caseload per county court judge and to give a permanent home for juvenile cases in Montgomery County, Valdez said. Previously, juvenile cases rotated among three other county courts that
MONTGOMERY COUNTY A year after its creation, Montgomery County Court at Law 6 will begin taking cases Sept. 1. Judge Scharlene Valdez of the 418th District Court will preside over the new court following her June 14 appointment. She ran unopposed for the new seat in the Republican March 1 primary and did not have a Democratic opponent for the November election. She will be sworn in Aug. 15. Valdez said her previous experi- ence working as an attorney in the Montgomery County Child Protective
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
5 members named to county’s Safe School Commission
City of Tomball launches new interactive map
BY KAYLI THOMPSON
Smith said the city created it to increase transparency and assist the public with getting information more easily. Smith said the interactive map allows users to search by property tax ID, measure in two ways, change the base map and look at the different layers. The layers include zoning, the future land use plan, utilities, the thoroughfare plan, Federal Emergency Management Agency flood hazard areas, parcels, parks, municipal boundaries and streets. “This is kind of a brainchild of yourselves [council]. Because you ask us on a regular basis what these [zoning] uses are, and what can and can’t be used,” Dietrich said.
TOMBALL In an effort to remain transparent and address questions City Council and the public have, the city of Tomball added a new interactive map of the city to Tomball’s website. Community Development Director Nathan Dietrich and City Planner Jared Smith presented the map to council members July 5. “A new interactive map that we have [is] available for all citizens, real estate developers ... and, most importantly, you [council mem- bers]. ... You can get to a lot of the information that sometimes would seem very onerous to get, ... whereas now all of this information is at your fingertips,” Dietrich said.
BY RACHEL CARLTON
HARRIS COUNTY Commissioners approved the appointments of five candidates to the Harris County Safe School Commission on June 28. The commission will address school safety for private schools as well as Harris County’s 25 ISDs. Members will present their findings to the court before the end of their term Aug. 1. The appointees include Saami Baig, a high school student at the John Cooper School; Traci Latson, a teacher at the Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School; Calandrian Simpson Kemp, founder of No Weapon #1Life Empowerment Foundation and member of Moms Demand Action; Humble ISD Super- intendent Elizabeth Fagen; and Lisa Andrews Alpe, vice president of the Spring Branch ISD school board.
ACCESS THE INTERACTIVE MAP FROM THE CITY’S HOMEPAGE AT WWW.TOMBALLTX.GOV.
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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