UPDATE:
Deltaplex News has received a response from Jefferson County Deputy Circuit Clerk Barbara Collins regarding its FOIA request on how supersponsorships are formed. According to Collins, the procedural ordinance passed by the Quorum Court does not require any meetings for justices to create a supersponsorship.
In an email, Collins wrote:
“I am in receipt of your FOIA request. Please note that per the procedural ordinance, no meeting is required to obtain supersponsorship. The justices agreed that they would be super sponsors for any ordinances so long as the agenda came from the County Clerk’s office. Therefore, no meetings have taken place without the public knowledge as required by law. I hope this clarifies your request.”
—Barbara Collins
This now raises a new question: if no meetings are being held, where are the agenda items submitted under supersponsorship coming from?
ORIGINAL STORY:
Eight members of the Jefferson County Quorum Court have exercised a procedural tool known as super-sponsorship to add a slate of appropriation ordinances to the court’s upcoming agenda — a move that has sparked questions from County Judge Gerald Robinson about how the measures were introduced.
An original agenda, containing only items passed out of committee meetings, was circulated by Jefferson County Deputy Circuit Clerk Barbara Collins. But a later amended agenda arrived with several additional ordinances, prompting Robinson to question the process.
“Ms. Barbara, I’ve just seen the amended agenda. Did any of the amendments go through committee? Chairmen or Chairpersons and Co-chairs, was there a meeting that I wasn’t aware of?” Robinson asked in an email.
Collins responded by pointing to a change in county procedure adopted earlier this year.
“According to the Procedure Ordinance that was passed on March 17, 2025, all Quorum Court requests shall be channeled through the appropriate Quorum Court committee(s). Exception: Items with a Super Sponsorship (five or more sponsors) shall be added to the next Quorum Court meeting agenda,” Collins wrote. “All of the items not submitted from your office were collectively sponsored by 8 of the 13.”
The added ordinances span a wide range of departments and services. They include appropriations and transfers impacting the County Judge’s office, Veteran Services, Cooperative Extension, the Assessor’s office, Prosecuting Attorney, Public Defender, and the Office of Emergency Management.
Among the more notable measures is an ordinance tied to the county’s Solid Waste Contract (Fund 1804), which was previously tabled during a special called meeting on August 18 but has resurfaced for consideration. Other measures include reimbursements for the Victim Witness program and multiple fund transfers between departments.
The use of super-sponsorship — which allows at least five justices of the peace to collectively sponsor legislation and bypass committee approval — has raised questions about transparency and highlights the influence of coordinated action within the quorum court.
Deltaplex News has requested information from county officials regarding how the eight members came together to support the added items. Specifically, the outlet has asked for minutes from any special called meeting where the super-sponsorships may have been formed, seeking clarity on where the meeting took place, who attended, and how the decisions were reached.
With the appropriations now on the agenda, the matter is expected to draw significant attention when the quorum court convenes, as both the funding measures and the process behind their inclusion face heightened public scrutiny.
