The Lampasas County Commissioners Court on Monday voted to institute a 90-day ban, which began Monday at noon, on outdoor burning in unincorporated areas of the county.

Exceptions to the ban include barbecue pits, trash burned in a barrel with a screen on top and agricultural burns approved by Lampasas County Fire Marshal Gene Harrison.

A violation of the order is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.

"It's extremely dry," County Judge Wayne Boultinghouse said. "All of you here can attest to that, so maybe our prayer [at the beginning of the meeting] will be answered, and we'll get some rain."

In other business, the Commissioners Court voted 4-0, with Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Vincent absent, to participate in the Texas Statewide Victim Notification Service. The computer-based program, which does not require an expenditure by the county, allows crime victims to obtain information about offenders, including the time of release from jail.

Sheriff David Whitis said the service automatically notifies the victims of domestic violence, for example, when the offending party is set for release.

"That way, if somebody needs to get the heck out of Dodge they can," he said.

Dr. Gary Walker, program manager for the victim service, said information through the program is offered in English and Spanish. A live operator is available 24 hours a day, Walker added.

In compliance with legal requirements, the Lampasas County sheriff's office phones crime victims before the relevant offenders are released from the Lampasas County Jail, Jail Administrator Cathy Groothoff said. The statewide notification service, Ms. Groothoff said, will give victims greater flexibility to obtain information in case they miss a phone call from a sheriff's department employee.

"This is a wonderful program, not only to protect us from liability but also to protect the victims and the citizens," Ms. Groothoff said.

In addition, the Commissioners Court took no action about a funding request from Eldon Tietje, executive director of the Central Counties Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services.

The Central Counties Center for MHMR -- which serves Lampasas, Bell, Coryell, Hamilton and Milam counties -- is requesting increased funding from those counties, Tietje said, to offset rising rent and utility costs and decreasing state and Medicaid funding. Because of high employee turnover, the MHMR center also is seeking funds to raise clinical staff salaries in order to compete better with state and school employers, Tietje said.

Lampasas County's annual contribution of $4,200 has not increased since 1992, Tietje said. He asked the Commissioners Court to raise Lampasas County's payment to $20,000.

County Auditor Jack Clark said he would make note of the request when developing a preliminary 2009-10 budget, but he said unfunded mandates by the state already have placed a heavy burden on the county. In preparing for budgeting sessions, Clark has asked department heads to cut their expenses by 5 percent, to avoid capital outlays and to give no raises beyond the scheduled "step" increases.

Lampasas County is required by law to allocate 8 percent of its tax levy to indigent health care, Clark said. Indigent health care expenses could top $400,000 in the upcoming year, the auditor said.

"When you combine MHMR with indigent health care, indigent burial and all that, it puts a high burden on the taxpayers of the county," Clark said.

He also urged Tietje to seek funding from the municipalities and school districts served by the Central Counties Center.

Also at the recent meeting, commissioners authorized the signing of a proclamation designating July "Watch Your Car Awareness Month."

Lt. Joey Canady, commander of the Heart of Texas Auto Theft Task Force, urged Lampasas County residents to lock their vehicles, take their keys and hide their belongings when they step away from their automobiles. About half the approximately 100,000 vehicle thefts that take place each year in Texas can be prevented through those precautions, Canady said.

In another item, the Commissioners Court tabled an insurance request from Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc.