A moment that took eight weeks for county commissioners to implement lasted only 30 seconds Tuesday.

It marked the first time the McLennan County Commissioners Court officially began its weekly meeting with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

The court spent the past two months deciding whether to add a prayer with the Pledge and created a policy to incorporate prayer without slighting any religious congregations in the county.

County commissioners rose Tuesday to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald

After opening the meeting, County Judge Jim Lewis called for a brief moment of silence. People then rose to say the pledge with County Veterans Services Officer Steve Hernandez.

And the meeting continued as usual.

The court also briefly revisited the issue of civil service.

Commissioner Lester Gibson presented the results of a survey of county employees on whether they supported creating a countywide commission to review hirings, firings, promotions and transfers.

The three-member civil service board would be appointed by the commissioners court and would create an avenue for employees to appeal employment and firing decisions, potentially helping shield the county from some lawsuits.

The survey was conducted in March with the sheriff, county clerk, district clerk, tax and treasurer’s offices, as well as Gibson’s road and bridge crew. About 44 percent of the county’s 821 employees participated.

Of the 363 respondents, 74 percent favored establishing civil service for all employees, while 17 percent preferred that it be created only for the sheriff’s office.

An additional 5 percent said no to a civil service board altogether, while 4 percent said they were neutral.

A year in the making

The court first debated whether to create a civil service commission last June at the urging of the Sheriffs Law Enforcement Association of McLennan County but failed to reach a consensus on the issue. Gibson said a majority of the survey participants — 283 — were from the sheriff’s office.

Mike Garrett, president of the sheriff’s association, said the group will push to place the issue on the ballot for voters to make the call, but that may not happen until next year.

“I think the results are encouraging and show that most people will support this for all county employees,” Garrett said. “I think right now the next step is to survey the rest of the county employees and get their responses.”

Gibson said he intends to reach out to other county departments and to continue the survey. Gibson favors a countywide civil service board and hopes to place the issue back on the commissioners’ court agenda for a vote.

“We didn’t have a clear-cut consensus one way or the other on the court. We didn’t vote it down, and we didn’t have a concerted position,” Gibson said. “But I’m willing to compromise to reach a consensus.”

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755

RELATED SEARCHES

• Policies in place, county ready to start saying Pledge of Allegiance and prayer
• Citizens again lead pledge at commissioners court while waiting for official policy