Commissioners Vote To Stop Bottled Water

A county expenditure that began as a temporary solution to a bad-tasting problem has continued more than a decade later.

Until now, that is.

In Tuesday’s Van Zandt County Commissioners’ Court meeting, Precinct 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. objected to an ongoing budget expense for bottled water for some county offices.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Ron Carroll quickly joined Melton in saying it should stop.

"I brought this up three or four years ago and it seems nobody wants to take the step to stop it. It’s not right for taxpayers to pay for bottled water.

"That is $1,200 to $1,400 a year that could be going to something else," Carroll added.

He went on to explain the expenditure began "10 or 12 years ago" after the city of Canton experienced some problems at the city lake that required further chemical treating of drinking water.

Melton pointed out that alongside the original need for bottled water no longer being the case, county employees could get bottled water from a vending machine inside the courthouse.

The current round of county bills were approved 4-1 with Precinct 1 Commissioner Ricky LaPrade opposing due to a $75 car decal expense turned in by Precinct 4 Constable Pat Jordan and paid out of the office’s forfeiture funds.

"I don’t agree with it, either," said Melton, "but we as commissioners have no control over these forfeiture funds. It is the way the law is written right now and, unfortunately, we don’t."