Willacy County court renews declaration to reapply for Operation Lone Star funding

The Willacy County Commissioners Court voted March 5 to renew a previously adopted declaration that the county needs to reapply for Operation Lone Star FY2026 grant funding.

County staff explained the renewal is a procedural requirement tied to the grant application process after the county was not selected in the prior funding cycle. A staff member said the renewal is intended to allow Willacy County to seek block-grant or homeland-security-related funds related to the Operation Lone Star program.

Judge (S1) moved to approve the renewal, saying, “I’ll make a motion to approve it.” Commissioner (S3) spoke in support, and the court carried the motion by voice vote. The court did not record an individual roll-call tally in the transcript; the chair announced the motion carried.

The renewal preserves the county’s eligibility to apply; staff did not specify exact dollar targets or projects linked to the potential grant in the public discussion. The court provided no additional conditions attached to the renewal at the time of the vote.

Next steps: staff may proceed with application activities tied to the renewed declaration and return with program-specific requests if the county secures funding.