The El Paso County Commissioners Court is authorized under Section 81.032 of the Texas Local Government Code to accept donations of real property for the purpose of performing a County function. This policy provides a process for parties interested in donation real property to the County of El Paso. The Executive Director of Public Works shall designate a staff member to serve as the Point of Contact (POC) between the County and perspective real property donors. Parties interested in donation real property should contact the POC designated by the Executive Director.

The recommended amendments stem from ensuring the Commissioners Court approves the recommendation from the Public Works Executive Director to accept the donation of real property. Specifically, the amendments are as follows:

• Adds a third set of criteria to measure if the property is of value to the County. Specifically, Section 2(a)ii states that a property may be considered valuable if the property "...is unoccupied and undeveloped and within 1) the extraterritorial jurisdiction of City of El Paso and 2) a legally platted subdivision." This helps to possibly mitigate concerns related to the fractionalized ownership of lots in the Eastern portion of the County.
• Adds a step for Public Works to conduct a title for properties deemed to be of value to the County prior to placing the item on the Commissioners Court agenda for the Court's approval or denial of the recommendation. This process is recommended by the County Attorney's office to minimize liability in obtaining properties which may not have clean deeds or other concerns related to ownership (Section 3(b)iii).
• Sections 3c and 3d describe the coordination required between the Public Works Department and the Office of the County Attorney after the Commissioners Court has approved the recommendation to accept a real property donation. Previously, the Office of the County Attorney would review all documentation prior to the Court's accepting the real-property donation. This ensures the Court approves the donation prior to expending further staff resources.

Estimated Annual Fiscal Impact of Title Searches: $10,000

Total Searches in FY19-Q1: 11

Total Searches in FY18: 9

Cost per Title Search: $350

Title searches were not included in the FY19 Department request as they had not been recommended as part of the process until the end of FY18. If the policy amendments are approved, the Department requests concurrence for this cost to be monitored, accounted for and budgeted within the FY2020 budget process. 

April 21, 2014 (Item #4-L)

Commissioners Court adopted the Real Property Donation Policy & Procedures.

December 12, 2013

Commissioners Court designated Public Works Department as primary point of contact related to donations of real property to the County.