Reprint from the Progress Times - November 2, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

County floodplain administrator recognized

In a regularly scheduled meeting of the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, October 30, the commissioners passed a resolution honoring Hidalgo County Floodplain Administrator Godfrey Garza.

The resolution comes on the heels of recognition for Garza from The Lightning Rod, the official newsletter of the Texas Floodplain Management Association. In the September 12 edition of The Lightning Rod, Garza was one of only two floodplain managers in all of Texas who were recognized. Garza was recognized for his work in developing a GIS-based permit tracking system. The tracking system allows officials and administrators to see at a glance project locations, permit applications and elevations certificates.

The Lightning Rod is published by the Texas Floodplain Management Association four times a year and is put together by a volunteer committee.

The court also took time to approve a resolution appointing Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Director Eddie Olivarez as the Hidalgo County representative to the Texas Indigent Health Care Association.

The Texas Indigent Health Care Association (TIHCA) was created in 2004 as a program of the Urban Counties with the cooperation of the Texas Association of Counties when county indigent health care directors asked for organizational assistance in response to the State’s discontinuation of the Texas Department of Health Regional coordinators the prior year. The basic goal of TIHCA is to provide information on upcoming legislative issues and state level changes as well as staff training on program administration.

Olivarez believes he participation in TIHCA will allow the County to have a hand in shaping the indigent care system.

"This will allow us to not only take part in different training programs and events involving indigent care, but also to work hand in hand with legislators on issues of indigent care within the state of Texas," said Olivarez. "This will help us be a part of making changes and bettering the system."