Current Hockley County Commissioner of Precinct One, Alan Wisdom is campaigning for his second term in the position.
Wisdom stated he enjoys working in the position and shared that he cares for the precinct and Hockley County.
“I came on board because I felt like some things had been neglected for a while,” said Wisdom. “We had a long road to go, we are still working on different improvements and I still have things I want to get done.”
During his time as commissioner, Wisdom has been able to learn about the different facets of the county.
“I think that’s what intrigues me the most is I really enjoy the business side of things,” said Wisdom. “That includes where the money is spent and where it goes. I like watching that and trying to have some input while saving in places where I can.”
When he first came into office, Wisdom had no idea about subdivisions.
“Subdivisions in precinct one is probably the hot topic right now,” explained Wisdom. “We do not have a good set of regulations in place for the county right now. Currently, that is something I’m striving to get done and I would like to sit down with the other commissioners and come together to build a good set of regulations.”
Wisdom explained that he supports growth but there also needs some form of protection built into for the people on both sides. He added that there are areas out there that are being subdivided and there are concerns about water and he is concerned about drainage issues.
“There’s things like that we can help with,” said Wisdom. Those are some of the things that matters to me.”
Wisdom is fully aware that road work is constantly needed especially the growth that is occurring within his precinct. Wisdom highlighted roads in the Ropes area that are seeing more usage ever day.
“Those blacktop roads were originally built years and years ago to get a cotton trader to the gin,” explained Wisdom. “We’ve made residential areas down there and we have to improve those roads somehow. That’s an undertaking that’s going to be very expensive and we have to find some help on funding to get that done.”
Wisdom added that there are ways that can remedy the roadways right now for minimum costs right now until they can afford to redo the whole thing.
Following the jail closely, Wisdom frequents the facility and is responsible for signing the bills every Monday.
“The inmate housing money that we spend is phenomenal and the numbers are just mind boggling,” said Wisdom.
When he first came into office, the very first morning Wisdom walked in and there was a stack of bills on his desk about foot tall. Seizing the opportunity to learn, Wisdom decided to go through the stacks of bills and see where the expenses were.
“I make a point every Monday morning to go in early. I sit down and I go through every ticket,” said Wisdom. “I did that because I thought this is how I learn where money goes and I continue to do that today. I like keeping an eye on that.”
Wisdom added that a commissioner wears many hats and the jail is one of those.
“I thought it was interesting, we feed the inmates three times a day for at that time as $1.33 a meal,” said Wisdom. “I thought that’s that’s pretty affordable then I realized that everyday.”
Wisdom added that meal prices are currently sitting at $1.57 a meal per day. When Wisdom joined the county, the out of county housing was an average of about $25,000 a month. Today’s its closer to $45,000 a month. Additionally, the inmate housing in Hockley County has increased. The county is spending $88 a day to house an inmate.
“We’re always full and it’s just a never ending thing,” explained Wisdom. “We have 62 beds and we have 62 people every day plus what we have in outside housing.”
During his tenure as commissioner, worked on the new fire agreement between Levelland and the county.
“That was a tremendous savings. We are averaging $100,000 a year savings with this new program in place,” said Wisdom. “I think it was just something that was overlooked in the years past and people didn’t realize it wasn’t fair what we were doing. Now we’ve gone to a per run basis that we pay per run. that’s worked out a lot better for everybody involved.”
Wisdom highlighted the support he has received for being available to his constituents when needed.
“I think the most interesting thing that I get is I’m the guy that’s always available,” said Wisdom. “I never miss a phone call, an e-mail or a message. If my phone rings I answer unless we’re in a meeting or something but I always got back to them.”
Also, Wisdom added that he does not live in Levelland, Smyer or Ropes, but he live in Hockley County.
“Each precinct is facing something different, with us in precinct one it is the growth,” explained Wisdom. “There’s a lot to be done but we are going to get it done.”