A justice of the peace who wants to levy a fee for court cases drew criticism from county commissioners Monday for his handling of money.

Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Jeff Monk requested a $5 fee be assessed for every case brought before all court in the county. He said the money would be used to hire juvenile case managers when the new budget begins in October.

Monk said all the money from the fund would be used for the case managers’ salaries and all interest earned would go to the commissioner’s court to be used at their discretion.

Commissioner Don Beeson, who represents Precinct 4, said he did not believe the county’s justices of the peace were in favor of collecting additional fees.

Commissioners tabled Monk’s request so they could discuss the fee with other JPs and gather additional information.

Monk later asked to terminate the contract between his court and Perdue, Brandon, Fielder & Mott, a law office that collects court fees and fines for county offices.

Commissioner Mark Carpenter said the county has a good relationship with the law office and he did not believe Monk should terminate the contract.

Harmon suggested Monk was not using the resources available to him to collect money for the county.

“I’m going to be honest with you.” Harmon said, “When we did research, money wasn’t collected for Precinct 2 like it was for the other precincts. You said earlier that you wanted to be a team player, but I don’t see that.”

Monk said he was not provided the same resources other judges were given. He also said there were problems with collections before he came into office, and he was only given one part-time clerk to help him while the other judges were given a full-time clerk.

After intense discussion Precinct 2 Commissioner John Matthews made a motion that the court allow Monk to terminate his contract with the firm. When other commissioners did not offer a second, the motion was dropped and there was no further discussion.

Monk wants to consider contracting with another legal office for collection services.



Booming area

John Walsh, employee of Vision North Texas, presented the commissioners with several projections of the expected population growth for the 10 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He addressed future environmental and transportation needs and told the court his company believes the Metroplex population will almost double in the next 25 years, from 5.1 to 9.7 million people.

Harmon thanked Walsh for the information and assured him that Johnson County is striving to stay abreast of the growth.

Additionally, commissioners welcomed Victoria Sykes, who replaced Chris Kelley as the local representative for U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. Kelley moved to Washington, D.C., in April to work with Congress.

Johnson County commissioners accepted Precinct 1 Constable Matt Wylie’s resignation. Wylie said he is taking a job with a company that will provide career advancement opportunities.

“This is something that fell in my lap,” Wylie said, “and it’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Wylie said he had mixed emotions about resigning from his position as constable because he enjoys his job. He said he made the move because he has a wife and two kids to consider.

Precinct 1 Commissioner R.C. McFall said Wylie will have a good future with the company he will be working for, but he will be missed.

“I appreciate what you do for the people of Johnson County,” McFall said. “You’ve been a good example as an elected official.”

Harmon said he also hates to see Wylie leave.

“You certainly will be missed,” Harmon said. “I wish we had more like you.”

Carpenter said he appreciated Wylie’s professionalism as constable.

“I just appreciate the confidence the citizens of Johnson County put in a 30-year-old kid seven years ago,” Wylie said.

Harmon said the court is accepting applications for individuals who are interested in filling Wylie’s unexpired term.

In other news, the court:

F Approved the employment of Dr. Wenhsing Cheng as the family and consumer sciences agent for the Johnson County office of the Texas Cooperative Extension.

F Presented a certificate of appreciation to corrections officers James R. Sloan and Bret E. Baker, who assisted with the tornado damage in Rio Vista last December.

F Presented a plaque to Bill Gray, a building maintenance supervisor who recently retired from Johnson County. Commissioners expressed their gratitude for Gray’s service and said he was an great asset to the county.



Misty Shultz can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2336,

or reporter2@trcle.com.