The FBI Investigating Smith County Commissioners Court

TYLER — The FBI is the latest agency to begin an investigation of the Smith County Commissioners Court. The Texas Attorney General’s Office had earlier announced it was looking into the commissioners’ executive session where the commissioners approved purchasing traffic cameras for some school zones. KETK reports commissioners Cary Nix and Terry Phillips confirm the FBI is looking into the matter. Both could not discuss the matter on advice of the county’s attorney.

Smith County commissioners first announced the plan back in April. County Judge Joel Baker said, “Smith County is focused on public safety and limited enforcement to ensure the safety of the community’s school children,” Baker said at that time. “I believe it is a more efficient way to enforce laws that are already in place.” The program was suppose to include five cameras rotating in county school zones. The cameras were then delayed in early May following an uproar from the public.

Judge Baker went on to say, “As county judge I should have done a better job of public outreach and education regarding this program. As the presiding officer of the commissioners court, I take full responsibility for not leading a more robust public discussion on this topic prior to entering into the program. I am sorry for this error in the process. Therefore, I have asked the School Safety program vendor, ATS, to pause and delay the start of the program to allow us to do a better job with communication and outreach. ATS has also agreed to survey school zones around the county and to provide data regarding speeding in those locations. It’s now important that we restart the public conversation with facts.”

A few days after Baker made those comments, Grassroots America – We The People, a Smith County watchdog group, filed a formal complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.