HOUSTON – Harris County is staring down a $178 million budget shortfall — and if commissioners approve a proposed tax increase, homeowners could feel it in their wallets.
The county is considering a tax rate that would increase the property tax bill on a median-valued homestead by about $90 next year. Factor in the proposed flood control rate, and that number climbs to roughly $97 more per year.
Commissioners spent time Monday discussing budget options for the upcoming fiscal year — and depending on what’s decided, the impact on county programs could be significant. One by one, residents stood before commissioners to make their case.
“I’m here to speak on behalf of fixed-income and working-class families against the tax increase that you are proposing,” one resident said.
Others came with different priorities. “I came to the court to fully fund an office of community safety,” another resident said.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Lesley Briones says the county’s financial challenges aren’t happening in a vacuum — pointing to recent federal and state policy decisions as major contributing factors.
“We are here leading Harris County and we together are having to live and wrestle with the consequences of President Trump and Governor Abbott’s policies,” Briones said. “SNAP benefits have been cut by approximately 20 percent just recently with the Big Beautiful Bill. That means over 130,000 Harris County families have lost their benefits. We were already in challenging times, but they have made this even more challenging — having local government step in alongside nonprofits.”
Briones also highlighted the impact of changes to the Affordable Care Act. “Over 200,000 people will be off the ACA,” she said. “We already had too many people who were uninsured in Harris County — but now hundreds of thousands more will be uninsured.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo weighed in on another significant driver of the deficit — pay increases for elected officials that were approved by county commissioners.
“A big chunk of that deficit — around $300 million — is from pay increases,” Hidalgo said. “That amount of money was committed without going to a vote. There’s a $305,000 pay increase for constables, which will now go to other elected officials.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey pushed back on the characterization that law enforcement pay increases are the primary problem.
“There’s conversation obviously on law enforcement — they’re singled out as the primary culprits as being the problem,” Ramsey said. “I think the increase that we gave was the right decision, and that wasn’t the only thing that contributed to the increased cost.”
Tuesday’s session was all discussion — lots of numbers and lots of scenarios — but no final decision was reached. The county says a vote on the budget and any possible tax rate increase is set for Sept. 8.