Harris County leaders will begin discussions Tuesday about whether to add a bond election to the November ballot.
The bond would be a hybrid measure to raise money for roads, parks, flood control, and public safety. It’s unclear how much the bond would be for, but Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s office said it could come in the ballpark of $1 billion.
Garcia, who asked the county budget office to look into the possibility of a new bond, said Commissioners Court will first have to hear from the office on whether the county’s finances can sustain new borrowing.
Garcia, a Democrat, is up for reelection this fall.
“I’m in favor of putting it on the same ballot that I would be on,” he said. “I think it’s important to show the folks that we’re working on their behalf, we’re making investments, and we need their support to make the investments that they want to see done.”
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Garcia’s office says the commissioner is flexible on the bond amount, as he’s hoping to win bipartisan support from his fellow commissioners to put it on the ballot.
There was the post-Harvey $2.5 billion flood bond election in 2018, a bond package in 2015 that passed easily, and the 2013 joint inmate processing center referendum that just barely passed (the “save the Astrodome” item on the same ballot went down). That was a sort-of sequel to a series of bond issues in 2007 that included one for jail construction, which was defeated. So yeah, there’s room for a new issue. Obviously, what would be in it needs to be defined, and it would need to be approved by Commissioners Court for the ballot by mid-August or so. We’ll see what they come up with. The Chron has more.
Have we finished spending the bond money from the last flood control bonds yet? The optics for this look bad as local law enforcement have outright stated they lack the manpower to patrol the bike trails recently approved using toll road money so more parks might not be a big seller either. Bond money can’t be used to fund hiring deputies as I recall but with higher property tax values, the county should be able to afford anything in the range mentioned. On the downside, it would bring out every anti-bond, anti-spend republican to the polls as well.