HARRIS COUNTY – It’s an issue that Harris County Commissioners have been going back and forth over for weeks, and now, the time is up to vote on the county’s tax rate.
On Tuesday afternoon, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo fired off a series of tweets accusing Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle of forcing $100 million in cuts to law enforcement, healthcare, flood control, and other services due to their refusal to attend meetings and vote on the tax rate.
Today was the last day to set a tax rate cut & adopt a sound budget to fully fund our County. Because Commissioners Cagle & Ramsey refused to show up yet again, they're forcing $100M in cuts to law enforcement, healthcare, flood control, & other services. (1/7)
— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) October 25, 2022
One of the main issues at hand is also tied into the battle over the county’s budget, and specifically, law enforcement funding.
The county says millions of proposed increases will now be cut from the budget, including a loss of $5,000,000 for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and a loss of $40,000,000 for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department for patrol, administration, and detention.
The county also added that Harris Health System, which is allegedly underfunded, will cut life-saving services for 10,000 patients, including cancer screenings, dialysis, mental health treatment, and home health care. These cuts to services are especially concerning given that:
- Nearly 1 million people — 20% of Harris County’s population are underinsured;
- Harris County already experiences some of the highest maternal and infant mortality, and morbidity rates in the entire country, which will be exacerbated by the Texas abortion ban;
- Harris County has experienced a decrease in average life expectancy from 78 to 69 years between 2019 and 2022
The Harris County Sherriff’s Office will lose $44 million to fund Patrol and Detention:
- $16.6 million to fund Patrol and Administration, the equivalent of 175 entry-level deputies, will not be available.
- $23.6 million to fund Detention, the equivalent of 277 detention officers for the jail, will not be available.
District Attorney, Kim Ogg fired back at the budget proposal, telling KPRC “Government spending is all about priorities. Couldn’t we have a shorter bike trail? Couldn’t we have fewer beautification projects in neighborhoods? I don’t see these budget items being cut.”
“The last four years, the best of us are dead, 11 of us in just a few years. Eleven here in Harris County, all unnecessarily because we’ve been experimented on in our budget cuts,” Pct 4 Constable Mark Herman said.
Hidalgo maintained the blame is on commissioners Ramsey and Cagle who refused to meet and come to common ground.
Cagle disagreed in a separate virtual interview by saying he and Ramsey wanted more funding for law enforcement.
“Now, we’re two weeks out from the election, and all of a sudden when they want to raise the taxes on the public, if we don’t go along with the tax raise, the three of them chose to try and enact a cut to law enforcement,” Cagle said.
Ramsey responded to Hidalgo’s statements and the proposed budget with the following statement:
“Despite the misrepresentations from today, the proposed tax rates would’ve resulted in generating a quarter-billion-dollars more in tax revenue. Posting this increase for five consecutive meetings is proof that the Court majority never intended to negotiate. Our constituents have been victims of wasteful spending for four years. From the addition of seven new departments, an $11M politically bid-rigged contract, and a historically expensive and disruptive redistricting yet no commitment to more neighborhood patrol officers – enough is enough. I am proud to have done my part in protecting our residents from the reckless management of their money.”
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