One year after the deadly Hill Country floods, the Kerrville and Kerr County officials who faced the most scrutiny over the emergency response remain in office.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Nearly one year after the catastrophic Texas Hill Country floods killed more than 130 people and prompted months of investigations, public outrage and questions over emergency response, the local officials who became the public faces of the disaster are still in their jobs.
Questions about emergency alerts, preparedness and communication dominated the weeks that followed the July 2025 floods. Residents demanded answers during public meetings, state lawmakers opened investigations and local officials faced repeated criticism over how the disaster unfolded.
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Despite months of public criticism and legislative scrutiny, no senior Kerrville or Kerr County official has resigned, been fired or been removed from office in connection with the flood response.
One of the most scrutinized officials was Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice.
Rice drew national attention after revealing his personal weather alerts may have been turned off during the overnight flooding, though he argued that fact had no bearing on the city’s emergency response because trained emergency managers were monitoring conditions and acknowledged in an NBC News interview that his weather alerts may have been turned off during the flood.
“I actually think I had my weather report stuff turned off, if I’m being honest,” Rice told NBC’s Morgan Chesky before being pressed why, as the City Manager, he would do that.
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Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice addresses Texas lawmakers during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. The hearing was held in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the state, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Rice later argued that whether his personal alerts were enabled was ultimately “a moot point” because the city relied on emergency management professionals monitoring conditions around the clock.
Rice was hardly the only official questioned about the response. Much of the blame fell on city and Kerr County leaders, which Chron previously reported on, over the timing and urgency of its warnings. City agencies, likewise, were under heavy fire for not issuing alerts through local channels until later that morning.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. later said he didn’t receive warning notifications until he was alerted by the City Manager.
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Kerr County’s Sheriff Larry L. Leitha and its Emergency Management Coordinator William B. “Dub” Thomas also acknowledged during a legislative hearing they were asleep when it first became apparent that a major flood event was unfolding. Thomas announced his retirement in March 2026, according to San Antonio Express News.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, from left, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr., and Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly.
Staff wire and courtesy photos
Additionally, Judge Rob Kelly, the top executive of Kerr County, was out of town during the day of the flood.
“I’m not pointing a finger, I’m not blaming you, I just want to set the record straight,” Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said in comments directed toward Kelly, prompting applause from those in the audience. “Everyone was here that day working their ass off, and you were nowhere to be found.”
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Public frustration extended beyond lawmakers. Former Kerr County IT director Stan Trolinger, who helped bring the CodeRED emergency notification system to the county in 2009, also argued leadership needed to change.
“I don’t see anything that the county needs to do differently other than get a new sheriff and a new emergency manager,” Trolinger told KXAN. “I don’t think there’s any solution other than to replace the people that failed us.”
State and local officials have consistently defended their response, arguing the flooding developed rapidly and that first responders saved as many lives as possible under extraordinary conditions.
“Our teams did everything that they possibly could with this gruesome, devastating situation that happened, and we would not change the way we did that,” Rice told NBC. “And I think we saved as many people as we could.”
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Gov. Greg Abbott greets Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice as he arrives to a news conference hosted by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country at The Pavillion at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Despite several attempts, Kerrville officials were unable to respond to any of Chron’s requests for interviews/comments for this story in time for publication.
One year later, investigations, legislative reviews and questions about emergency notification systems continue. However, the people who became the public faces of Kerrville’s response remain in office or were able to step down on their own terms.