MEMO

DATE: September 7, 2017

CC: Travis County Commissioners Court

FROM: County Commissioner Brigid Shea

SUBJECT: Follow up Throckmorton Leases

Dear Colleagues, I will not be in Court tomorrow, 9/11, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the Throckmorton leases.
In 2013, the County was receiving an estimated $131,740 per year for the grazing lease and 50% of the income from the hunting and recreation lease ($7/per acre).
The Court voted to renegotiate the contract and increased the revenue to $225,840 per year for 5 years ($12/per acre).
At the time, Spade Ranch said they believed that after 10 years, a 40% increase was in order. Travis County negotiated an increase larger than 40%. I believe we should renegotiate increases at least every 5 years, including this year.
Also, in 2013, the Court dispersed more than $3 million dollars in revenue from the Permanent School Funds account to the county school districts. The current balance is once again over $3 million dollars. Should the Court consider another disbursement to the school districts?

Best,
Brigid