Bandera County Veterans Service Officer (Mike Lauricella)

The office. The county's Veterans Services page: Mike Lauricella, 1212 Hackberry Street, Second Floor, P. O. Box 877, Bandera, Texas 78003; cell 830-460-1643; [email protected]. Office hours Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.: "Appointments only. No walk ins. Please call or email to reserve an appointment." What it does. The page's mission statement: the officer "is responsible for assisting Armed Forces Veterans and their dependents who reside in Bandera County of the benefits available to them under U.S. Federal and State laws. The Veterans Service Officer reports to the County Judge, and performs duties under the technical guidelines established by the Texas Veterans Commission, Veterans Benefits Administration, and Federal Law under C.F.R. 38. There is no charge for our services." It lists service-connected compensation, non-service-connected pension, widows' benefits, burial, education, military records, hospital and outpatient care and "other local assistance information", plus property tax exemptions for service-connected disabled veterans (the State's Tax Code rules; see the Texas entries), special licence plates, the home loan certificate of eligibility and "Requesting & Registering DD-214 or other Discharge Documents". It posts claim checklists: for compensation, the DD-214 (member 4 copy), service treatment records and private medical records; for pension, the DD-214, household income and assets and, under 65, proof of disability; for special monthly compensation or pension, VA Form 21-2680 from a healthcare provider. How the county funds it. The office is General Fund department 10-405. The FY2026-27 budget the Commissioners Court adopted on September 10, 2026 sets it at $89,109, up from $82,433 for FY2026 (actual spending $65,494 in 2024-25), with the officer's salary at $58,851 (one full-time position at grade 20). A separate Veterans Service Officer Fund (fund 87) takes jurors' donations ("Jury Donations-Veterans", $1,188 in 2024-25 and $1,057 estimated for 2025-26) and budgets $6,200 to spend in FY2027. On May 14, 2026 the Court accepted Lauricella's 2025 department report (see the board entry).