Fannin County, Texas -- All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting held Tuesday, September 15, 2026. The meeting opened with an invocation by Andrew Malone, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bonham, and pledges were led by Jenny Garner (Captain, USAF).
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Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham introduced Savoy Mayor Roger Cada and Dodd City Mayor Mike Keene in attendance.
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In public forum, Andy Walker relayed how a criminal court judge advised him that when Fannin County transitioned in 2009 from a county district attorney to a criminal district attorney, by definition the county attorney concept ended.
The conflict is over the seemingly active role Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham played in the pursuit of six indictments, a questionable case that suddenly unraveled when all six indictments were dismissed for Lack of Probable Cause.
Four of those dismissed indictments have resulted in countersuits and the county is now being forced to budget $250,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 to pay lawyers to defend the county. At Tuesday's meeting, Cunningham warned taxpayers that they may end up shelling out closer to a million dollars because of this self-inflicted fiasco.
And if a court eventually finds that these indictments were politically motivated malicious prosecutions, taxpayers may have to pay much more to resolve a troubling issue that has festered for years and crippled county government at times.
"We do not have a county attorney, as such," Walker pointed out. "It is handled by Mr. Skotnik [Criminal District Attorney John Skotnik]. "What we don't need is someone else being up here trying to be the attorney for the county. We don't need someone 'attorneying' from the commissioners court. We have someone to do that. So, it needs to stop."
Cunningham has already been cautioned in open court that it could be considered inappropriate for him to be doling out opinions regarding the indictments and their resulting countersuits because he appears to be a principal party in the matter.
Cunningham insists that Pct. 2 Commissioner A.J. Self, one of the plaintiffs in the countersuits, not be allowed to vote on matters regarding litigation. However, Cunningham claims to see no conflict if he votes despite his apparently active role in pursuing the indictments.
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Molly Hayes of Tulip, Texas, said that other county courts operate with far more decorum and advised the court to prioritize needs, beginning with support for law enforcement.
Hayes called it "embarassing" that law enforcement agencies -- agencies that citizens count on to protect them -- has felt inclined to offer to cut their budgets because the county 2026-2027 budget is in the red.
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Jan Johnson, president of Gober MUD, thanked everyone for assistance during a difficult water outage.
"We're back to normal," Johnson told commissioners court. "We no longer need your assistance."
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Skotnik asked the court to address agenda item number 24 and agenda item number 28 in order to allow 336th District Judge Christina Tillett and Fannin County Sheriff Cody Shook to get back to work.
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By a 3-2 vote, commissioners court voted to adopt the county's fiscal year 2026-2027 budget, with $250,000 in lawyers' fees moved into contingency under the stipulation that these funds can only be used to pay for legal representation.
Fannin County budgeted $275,000 for contingency for fiscal year 2025-2026. With two weeks remaining in the current fiscal year, the county has $68,460.00 remaining in this year's contingency line item.
The county took $807,725.70 out of reserves to balance the budget.
Cunningham and Pct. 4 Commissioner Doug Kopf cast the opposing votes.
"We're kicking the can down the road," remarked Kopf.
All funds for the Justice Center have been depleted, so any additional expenditures will need to be addressed. To date, the county has spent slightly less than $21 million at the Justice Center.
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By another 3-2 vote, commissioners court voted to approve Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Positions and Salaries.
Cunningham and Kopf cast the opposing votes.
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Commissioners court voted to adopt Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Debt Rate of 0.045293 for Fannin County.
Whipple advised that the county's bond debt is approximately $26,515,000.00.
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Commissioners court voted to adopt the 2026 Tax Rate of 0.384549 for Fannin County.
Routine items
Commissioners court approved payment of bills. Bills on September 8, 2026 were $923,976.06 and bills on September 15, 2026 were $104,535,78. Payroll was 493,626.49.
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Commissioners court approved minutes of previous meetings.
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Matt Brown of Allegiance Mobile Health presented the Emergency Medical Services Report for August 2026.
Brown reported 173 calls for service with an average response time of 13:15.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 in August 2026; $39,461.60.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 in August 2026; $9,340.41.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 in August 2026; $6,657.00.
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Report of monies received by the District Clerk office in August 2026; $24,584.61.
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Report of monies received by the County Clerk office in August 2026; All Courts, $19,875.20 and Land Records, $32,176.00.
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Fannin County Auditor Alicia Whipple presented the Auditor Monthly Reports for August 2026.
Whipple reported that year-to-date revenue is 17,465,038.27 and year-to-date expenses are $19,032,803.05.
"General Fund is in the negative $1,567,764.78," Whipple advised the court.
With the noteworthy exception of JP1, Whipple said that the revenue streams from departments are down, as are taxes, fees and services.
"I strongly encourage everyone, do not spend money unless it is needed to do your job," Whipple urged. "I've seen more spending in the last three weeks than I have ever seen in this timeframe in the 10 years I've been with the county."
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Discussion and possible action items
With no rain in sight, Fannin County Commissioners Court approved a two-week extension of the current countywide ban on outdoor burning.
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Commissioners court rescinded the Disaster Declaration for Gober MUD.
"We are back to normal as of this week," explained Jan Johnson, president of Gober MUD.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding adding Election Day Worker Coverage to Risk Pool.
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By a 4-1 vote, commissioners court approved changes to Section 3.1, Exception to Platting, of the Fannin County Subdivision Regulations; to include an application with a $100 fee, and after approval by the commissioners Court, an affidavit and survey must be filed with the County Clerk’s office.
Changes go into effect October 1, 2026.
Apply for the affidavit online.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Kurt Fogelberg voted against the changes.
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By a 4-1 vote, commissioners court approved Subdivision Regulations fee schedule; to increase third-party reviewing engineer fees and adding the affidavit for exception application fee.
The fee increase covers an increase of engineer fees.
Fogelberg cast the opposing vote.
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Commissioners court voted to approve a one-year agreement with Landmark Security Services for security at the Justice Center; $146,250.00.
The contract will start October 5, 2026, with an increase from one security officer to two security officers.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding attorney fees in the 2026-2027 Budget.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding a Resolution and contract for Delinquent Taxes Collections with Linebarger.
Contracting for delinquent taxes is under the authority of the CAD which already has a contract with Linebarger.
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Commissioners court tabled action regarding a grand opening of the Justice Center, and form and placement of a commemorative plaque.
Open house is being tentatively planned for a Wednesday or Friday in November.
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Commissioners court approved a Change Order for $54,140.00 to pay for miscellaneous changes at the Justice Center.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding signage at the Fannin County Justice Center.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding the purchase of an electric pallet jack for Justice Center.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding a vacant office, Room 107, at the Fannin County Courthouse.
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Commissioners court approved voting locations and election judges for the November 3, 2026 election.
POLLING LOCATIONS for 2026
Early Voting & Election Day
Fannin County Justice Center
2225 N. Center St., Suite 200
Bonham, TX 75418
Election Day Only
Roy V. Floyd Community Center (ARMORY)
1100 W. 5th St.
Bonham, TX 75418
First Presbyterian Church
818 N. Main St.
Bonham, TX 75418
Bois D’Arc Cowboy Church
3301 S. Hwy 121
Bonham, TX 75418
Savoy Baptist Church
207 S. Ashford St.
Savoy, TX 75479
First Baptist Church Ivanhoe
4063 N. FM 273
Ivanhoe, TX 75447
First Baptist Church Trenton
302 2nd St
Trenton, TX 75490
First Baptist Church Leonard
100 E. Thomas St.
Leonard, TX 75452
Honey Grove Lyday Hall
500 6th St
Honey Grove, TX 75446
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding the relocation of the county judge for office renovations for the incoming judge.
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Commissioners court voted to approve renewal of an Interlocal Agreement between Fannin County and Texoma Council of Governments for 911 addressing for 2026-2027; $60,000.00.
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Open discussion items
Open discussion items may be passed on unless discussion requested by a member of the court or a citizen.
Several county residents addressed commissioners court to voice concern regarding Black Mountain's plans for power plants, data centers and the BESS plant near Savoy. The residents strongly oppose tax abatements for what they refer to as "resource-draining industry."
