Due to dry conditions and lack of rain, at least one local county and a municipality have placed bans on outdoor burning. Since Aug.Due to dry conditions and lack of rain, at least one local county and a municipality have placed bans on outdoor burning. Since Aug. 23, a ban by Llano County Commissioners has remained in place, due to lack of rain and unusually high temperatures lasting for several days at a time leading to an elevated fire danger. (See related stories on page 1) The restriction, typically calculated utilizing the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, is put into place temporarily as a safety precaution to avoid the potential for runaway blazes.

Municipalities in Burnet County will pay a few dollars more per day to house inmates in the Burnet County Jail, after commissioners approved an increase which they believe is “in line” with out-of-county costs for the service, officials said.

As the potential for another capital murder case unfolds, the 424th/33rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office has signaled a plan to apply for grant assistance from the state for a potential trial that could require extended resources and time to conduct. As a result, Burnet County Commissioners approved Sept. 14 the DA’s office launching the grant application process for a County Essential Grant through the Texas Office of the Governor.

Burnet County set a new all-time record for sales tax allocations in August, crushing the old record set earlier this year by more than $40,560, a sign of phenomenal economic growth. Total sales tax allocations for Burnet County municipalities for August 2021 were $1,825,672.45 — more than $253,600 above last month’s allocation of $1,572,025.73 and an increase of $272,579, or 17.55 percent, above the $1,553,092.76 distributed in August 2020.