Judge Lina Hidalgo
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in her State of the County address on Thursday made her first public push for a proposed tax hike that would create more funds for infrastructure maintenance.
Hidalgo said in her first in-person State of the County address since 2019 that while the county’s investment in storm resiliency projects and other flood control efforts has increased since Hurricane Harvey, the total amount allotted for maintenance has remained unchanged. Harris County, she said, will struggle to maintain the $5 billion it has scheduled in new projects over the next five years without the increase.
“We can actually turn the page on flooding, and there are some other ways worth trying,” Hidalgo said. “So we now have an item on the November ballot where voters can allow us to invest in maintenance so we’re maintaining the projects we’re building.”
The proposal would increase the Harris County Flood Control District’s tax rate to 4.8 cents for every $100 in property value. For someone who owns a $400,000 home, the increase would amount to roughly $60 more per year and would generate somewhere in the ballpark of $113 million in revenue for the flood control district.
Harris County’s tax rate has steadily declined since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. From a high rate of 57 cents in 2021, the most recently adopted tax rate was just 49 cents in 2023.
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The ballot proposal is even supported by Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who butted heads this week with county Democrats over an initiative to increase voter registration across Harris County.
“We have known for 30-plus years that flood control was underfunded when it came to maintenance,” Ramsey said when Commissioners Court voted to put the proposal on the ballot. “We are today saying that’s not acceptable.”
See here for the background. I would love to see some polling on this. It’s clear that any kind of tax hike is a no go for some voters, regardless of its purpose. But for many voters it matters what the funds are intended for, and I suspect that a large majority here support the idea of spending more money on flood mitigation. The details matter, as does how it is presented to the voters, and whether or not there’s an organized opposition. I assume there will be a funded campaign for this proposition, but whether or not there’s an anti group is not yet clear. This could go either way, but it’s not up to chance. It’s up to the campaign or campaigns, and all that remains to be seen.
Just so I have it straight… when the budget for infrastructure expenditures was presented and approved, it failed to take into consideration/budget for future maintenance costs of said improvements… and HCAD tax revenue has been decreasing for four years running… and the County has known for 30 yrs that flood control projects were underfunded… and the County would only need an additional 2.26% in dedicated revenue to meet its goals ?
Kuff, you’re right – gonna be hard selling that to the voting citizens of HCounty, especially with the HFD bill coming due.
The 2018/2019 Harris County government budget was $1.49 billion. The proposed 2025 budget is $2.66 billion (over $1 billion more). Wow.
Most of it goes to the police. Do you think we should do something about that, Greg? Wow.
Can’t believe you want to defund the police, Greg?
As it stands now, nearly 59% of the proposed budget is allocated to public safety, including:
An $11.7 million budget increase to the Public Defenders Office;
Continued funding of $51.2M for outsourcing of prisoners from the Harris County Jail — the county’s biggest expense, according to Ramos;
Investing $1.5M in overtime to help reduce the court backlog of open criminal cases;
A $3.4 million budget increase for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences to help expedite evidence processing.
The proposal also includes a budget increase of $26.4 million for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, for a total of $714,866,485, split between three subcategories within the department:
Patrol & Administration: $301,231,154
Detention: $306,066,699
Medical: $107,568,632
CL that tax increase won’t happen this year. That would be harder to sell as few or no contractors will profit from the tax increase. Who will fund the campaign for a tax increase?
Living next to a bayou, I can say that the bayou’s upkeep has been much better than when the MAGAs ran the commissioner’s court. There have also been many more flood control projects since Hidalgo was elected county judge.
1 Billion increase in budget is wild. Voters should not support that huge tax increase
MAGAs misdirections, are you two on the Russian payroll? One puts up numbers, and the other runs with it. Is there a third party that will throw their two cents?
I have no idea what the MAGAs are fibbing about.
County commissioners approved a budget of $2.74 billion for Fiscal Year 2024, which begins October 1. That includes a budget for all departments of $2.395 billion and $3345 million in working capital. Commissioners also approved $257 million in appropriations for the Harris County Flood Control General Fund.Sep 19, 2023
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2023/09/19/462852/harris-county-passes-2-74-billion-budget-lowers-tax-rates-for-fifth-year-in-a-row/
Harris County proposes $2.66 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year with potential tax rate increases. The proposed budget from the Harris County’s budget office includes a 13% tax increase and $21 million in budget cuts across multiple departments.Aug 16, 2024
If I put a second link, it won’t post.