Kerr County

The July 4th floodwaters that surged along the upper Guadalupe River left families grieving and a community devastated. Recovery is ongoing, but over the weekend, the Friday night lights of high school football gave Kerrville residents a brief reprieve and a chance to gather and cheer for something familiar and hopeful.

County Judge Rob Kelly wants it in place before next summer.

The Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas in San Antonio has a team in the area impacted by the flooding along the upper Guadalupe River. They have been serving dozens of families dealing with the devastating loss of kids following flooding disaster in Kerrville and surrounding areas.

The organizations working together to help the flood victims said that the best way to help is with monetary donations.

Participants on the press event also criticized the recent redistricting legislation. State lawmakers said that should not be the priority over the flood relief.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly's proposal to stick with the same property tax rate and instead dip into county reserves to pay for post Fourth of July flood recovery met with no major opposition.

The commissioners previously shot down talk of an 8% increase in the property tax rate to fund flood recovery, and they appeared to favor keeping the property tax rate the same as last year.

While the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has raised more than $100 million, the governor’s OneStar Foundation and United Way San Antonio have raised more than $4 million combined and have yet to determine how they will be spent.

There have been discussions about property tax hikes in Kerr County to help pay for the flood recovery. But there is a growing sense that flood victims should not be paying for the recovery of other flood victims.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said that he lifted the burn ban for unaffected areas, effective Monday, which means people may incinerate the accumulated debris around them. Also, commissioners delayed until Aug. 4 any discussions about possibly raising the property tax rate temporarily to help pay for recovery efforts.