Court delays action on state emergency mutual‑aid MOU after budget and reimbursement questions

Rafael described an umbrella memorandum of understanding with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Incident Support Task Force that would allow Ellis County personnel to apply for and be deployed to assist other jurisdictions and to request TDEM resources when the county needs outside assistance. Participation is voluntary and requires training and an application process.

Commissioners questioned whether personnel salaries and expenses would be reimbursed if deployed. Rafael said reimbursement depends on the magnitude of an incident and whether it becomes a federally declared disaster; in some cases reimbursement through FEMA is possible but not guaranteed for mutual‑aid responses. Commissioners expressed concern about paperwork and the county bearing payroll costs during deployments and agreed to take no action to allow additional review and discussion with staff.