Demographics

Population: 426,645 (2010)
Land Area: 1,124.3 sq. miles
Altitude: 454 to 1,265 ft.
Average Rainfall: 34.2 inches/year
January Temperature: 35 degrees F average minimum
July Temperature: 97 degrees F average maximum
Growing season: 258 days

Government

Williamson County, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, is governed by an elected, five-member commissioners’ court. The court is responsible for all budgetary decisions and setting the county tax rate each year. Other duties of the court include administration of all the business of the county, including the building and maintenance of county roads and bridges.

Additional information about Williamson County government and departments may be found on the county’s Web site, www.williamson-county.org.

Commissioners Court

Most of Eastern Williamson County sits in Precinct 4, which is represented on commissioners’ court by Republican Ron Morrison. Commissioners’ court is the overall governing and management body of Williamson County, responsible for all budgetary decisions and setting the tax rate each year. Among the duties of the commissioners court is administration of all the business of the county, including the building and maintenance of county roads and bridges.

There are five members of the commissioners’ court. Dan Gattis Sr. presides as the County Judge, a position elected by county voters every four years. The four commissioners are elected by the voters within their precinct every four years. The commissioners meet each Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Williamson County Courthouse, 710 Main St. in Georgetown. The main county switchboard can be reached at (512) 943-1100.

Precinct 4

Commissioner: Ron Morrison
Annex Address: 350 Exchange Blvd., Suite 100, Hutto
Office Specialist: Linda Wipff
Assistant: Pete Correa
Phone: (512) 846-1190 or (512) 943-3761
Fax: (512) 846-1140
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

District Attorney

Address: 405 Martin Luther King Blvd., Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-1234
Fax: (512) 943-1255
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Williamson County District Attorney is John Bradley. Bradley and assistant district attorneys prosecute felony crimes committed in the county. The District Attorney’s office is located on the second floor of the Williamson County Justice Center at 405 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Georgetown.

County Attorney

Address: 405 Martin Luther King Blvd., Suite 240,
Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-1111
Fax: (512) 943-1120
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Front
desk closed from noon to 1 p.m. daily)
Jana Duty serves as the Williamson County attorney and prosecutes criminal and juvenile cases, intervenes in cases of domestic violence, administers victims’ compensation claims and serves as legal counsel to the Williamson County Commissioners’ Court.

Justice Court, Precinct 4

Address: 211 W. Sixth Street, Taylor, TX 76574
Phone: (512) 352-4155
Judy Hobbs serves as Justice of the Peace for Williamson County Precinct 4.
Justices of the peace serve both as judges and magistrates.
As judges, they preside over justice criminal court, justice civil court and small claims court.
Criminal cases include but are not limited to traffic cases, school attendance cases, minor alcohol violation cases and minor tobacco violation cases. Law enforcement agencies, including but not limited to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department, Department of Public Safety, Parks & Wildlife, Health Department and the Texas Alcohol & Beverage Commission, file complaints in justice criminal court. Civil cases include but are not limited to evictions and other suits with amount in controversy up to $5,000.

As magistrate, Hobbs issues warrants, conducts criminal examining trials, admonishes prisoners and sets bonds. She also conducts juvenile detention hearings and admonishes juveniles for statements. Additionally, justices of the peace perform marriage ceremonies and perform coroner duties on deaths that occur when not attended by a physician.

Sheriff’s Office

Address: 508 S. Rock Street, Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-1300 Fax: (512) 943-1444
Eastside Division address: 412 Vance Street, Taylor, TX 76574
Phone: (512) 352-4123, (512) 238-2123

James Wilson is the sheriff of Williamson County. He worked for DPS for more than 30 years, beginning as a state trooper, then becoming an investigator, a highway patrolman and spending eight years in administration, retiring as director.

The sheriff’s office is charged with providing public safety services to the residents of Williamson County. The sheriff’s office patrols the county, investigates crimes, maintains the county jail and provides other support services such as criminal records, crime victim assistance, traffic control and animal control.

In addition to enforcing the law, the sheriff’s office also keeps order in the district and county courts and actively promotes programs aimed at crime prevention, drug education and senior citizen safety. The Eastside Division is composed of patrol, investigations, animal control and livestock units, along with an administrative staff.

Precinct 4 Constable

Address: 2501 Mallard Drive, Taylor, TX 76574
Phone: (512) 352-4181
Precinct 4 Constable Marty Ruble was first elected in 1996. His office, which includes five deputies and three clerks, provides service of civil process, misdemeanor and felony warrants, child support papers and child support warrants. The constable’s office provides free security services for special community events as they arise. Deputies also can provide close patrol and bicycle patrol services upon request. The constable’s office also teaches bicycle safety and provides certificates upon completion.

Emergency Medical Services

Address: 303 Martin Luther King Blvd., Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-1264
Williamson County Emergency Medical Services serves all the unincorporated areas and cities of Williamson County. The department responds to all emergency medical calls and non-emergency patient transfers between hospitals. EMS also provides continuing emergency medical training for affiliated first-responder organizations and its own staff. The department has 14 stations handling more than 22,000 calls per year. The newest station is located in Hutto and will assist the two stations in Taylor in serving eastern Williamson County residents. The organization consists of nearly 110 full-time and six part-time personnel. All full-time field and administrative personnel are paramedics certified or licensed by the Texas Department of Health.

Williamson County EMS is active in public health and safety education, especially of school-age children. Programs are available for schools, child care agencies, shelters, juvenile probation and new mothers. Kenny Schnell serves as director of Williamson County EMS, as well as the emergency management coordinator for the county.

Williamson County and Cities Health District

Address: 100 W. Third St., Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-3600
Web: www.publichealthwilliamson.org
W.S. Riggins Jr., MD, MPH is executive director of the WCCHD. As the director, he oversees programs provided by six health district divisions: Community Health Promotion, Environmental Health Services, Public Health Nursing, Social Services, WIC Nutrition and Administrative Services. The Personal Health Services Division offers clinic services such as immunizations, prenatal care, well child care, WIC nutrition program, adult health screening program, tuberculosis treatment, sexually transmitted disease treatment, and HIV testing and counseling.

The Medical Assistance and Social Services Division performs eligibility determination for several programs and referrals to health and social services resources. The Environmental Services Division provides food handler sanitation training, food service sanitation inspections, septic system inspections and installer licensing, flood plain management, subdivision review, daycare inspections and environmental complaint investigations.

The Board of Health, appointed by county commissioners and member cities, oversees the activities of the Health District. District offices are located in Georgetown, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Taylor. The Taylor clinic provides preventive care services but does not provide sick care.

Tax Assessor and Collector

Address: 904 S. Main Street, Georgetown, TX 78626
Phone: (512) 943-1602 (motor vehicles), (512) 943-1603 (property tax)
Taylor office: 412 Vance Street, Taylor, TX 76574
Phone: (512) 238-2140, (512) 352-4140
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Deborah Hunt was elected Williamson County Tax Assessor/Collector and took office in 1997. She currently serves on the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts and the Tax Assessor Collectors Association of Texas Legislative Committees. The tax assessor/collector is elected countywide. The statutory responsibilities of the office include the assessment of property and collection of ad valorem taxes for the county, as well as contracting with other entities to collect their jurisdictions’ taxes.

The office is also responsible for registration and titling of all vehicles in the county, collection of the state tax on all automobiles sold, and issuance of beer and liquor renewal permits.

Property Taxes

Property taxes are the primary source of government revenue in Texas. These are local taxes based on the value of the property that help to pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and many other services. The Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector’s office currently collects property taxes for Williamson County and other taxing jurisdictions, including the following (Taxes listed do not include entities such as Municipal Utility Districts, Higher Education taxes and Emergency Service Districts):
* City of Granger (0.888817)
* City of Hutto (0.516545)
* City of Taylor (0.813893)
* City of Thrall (0.504140)
* City of Weir (0.265234)
* Coupland ISD (1.04005)
* Granger ISD (1.105)
* Hutto ISD (1.540050)
* Taylor ISD (1.450000)
* Thrall ISD (1.210000)
* Williamson County (0.457687)

State

Representing Eastern Williamson County in the Texas
Legislature are District 5 Sen. Steve Ogden and District 52 Rep. Larry Gonzales. Ogden, a Republican, is an oil and gas producer from Bryan. He was originally elected to the Texas Senate in 1997 after serving in the state House from 1990 to 1997. He currently chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is a member of the Education, Administration, Government Organization and Partnership Advisory committees.

Offices
Capitol address: P.O. Box 12068, Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711
Toll: 1-888-694-2609
Phone: (512) 463-0105
Fax: (512) 463-5713
Gonzales, a Republican was elected to the Texas House in 2010. Gonzales serves on the Border and Intergovernmental Affairs and County Affairs committees.
Capitol office: Room E2.412, P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768
Phone: (512) 463-0670
Representing District 10, which includes Eastern Williamson County, on the Texas Board of Education is Marsha Farney.
She was elected to the State Board of Education in 2010.
Address: PO Box 99, Georgetown, TX 78627
Phone: (512) 966-6771

Nation

Taylor sits in the 31st Congressional District, represented in Congress by John Carter. Carter, who practiced law in Round Rock during the 1970s, was appointed district court judge in Williamson County in 1981. He was elected district judge in 1982, the first Republican to win a countywide election. He was elected to Congress in 2002.
Capital address: 408 CHOB, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3864
District address: One Financial Center, 1717 North IH 35,
Suite 303, Round Rock, TX 78664
Phone: (512) 246-1600
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Kay Bailey Hutchison was first elected in 1993, becoming the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Hutchison is the Ranking Republican Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and serves on the Committee on Appropriations.
Capital address: 284 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-4304
Phone: (202) 224-5922 - Fax: (202) 224-0776
Austin address: 961 Federal Building, 300 East 8th Street, Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 916-5834 - Fax: (512) 916-5839
Cornyn, of San Antonio, was sworn in to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Sen. Cornyn currently sits on the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services, and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee.
Capital address: 517 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2934 - Fax: (202) 228-2856
Austin address: Chase Tower, 221 West Sixth Street, Suite 1530, Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 469-6034 - Fax: (512) 469-6020