Harris County commissioners voted 3-1 Thursday to finalize a combined property tax rate of 67 cents per $100 of taxable value, the highest in the county’s modern history. The court also adopted a $3.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the court’s lone Republican, cast the only no vote. Commissioners Lesley Briones, Rodney Ellis, and Adrian Garcia voted yes. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who opposed the increase at the Sept. 8 meeting, left the room briefly during the vote and was listed as absent. The budget passed 3-2, with Ramsey and Hidalgo opposed.
The rate is up from 62 cents last year. County estimates put the added cost for the average homeowner between $190 and $198 a year, or about $16 a month, though the county’s budget office says the final amount depends on a home’s taxable value and exemptions.
The increase is meant to help close a deficit of more than $180 million. The Houston Chronicle reported that the largest cost pressures include law enforcement pay, growing health care expenses, and the cost of defense lawyers appointed for people who cannot afford one. The pay raises alone would add $72 million in spending next fiscal year. Houston approved raises of 36.5 percent over five years for its police officers, and commissioners responded by giving county deputies 50 percent raises over five years to match the city’s pay scale.
The three Democrats who supported the hike said state and federal decisions left them little choice. They cited what they call unfunded mandates, which are legal obligations the county must pay for, such as health care and lawyers for defendants who cannot afford one. Ellis pointed to federal cuts to the Affordable Care Act and to domestic violence programs under President Donald Trump. Garcia described it as the hardest budget he has ever voted on and later told reporters that state and federal policies have shifted at least $250 million onto local taxpayers. County Budget Director Daniel Ramos also noted that a state business tax break took $8 billion off the county’s property tax roll this year.
Ramsey said the increase will weigh heavily on residents’ ability to afford their homes. “Our number one issue over the last six months has been affordability,” he said. Ramsey has also argued that more than $500 million of the budget is not required by statute.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), a former county tax assessor-collector, told the Houston Chronicle in a Monday interview that spending, not legislative mandates, is the problem, pointing to a large share of spending that is not required by statute. He said the combined rate will cost the average homeowner about $2,100 this year, nearly as much as the homeowner pays to Houston ISD, which has a much higher rate. Budget materials show the county adding hundreds of general-fund positions, though some departments, including the county attorney’s office, lost positions.
After the vote, Hidalgo told reporters the budget is unsustainable and that the county missed a chance to rework it. She said the tax rate and budget “do not substitute for a sustainable fiscal plan.” She called for reviewing programs against the county’s strategic plan or legal duties, finding funding before approving new spending, and consolidating duplicate operations such as precinct engineering departments, human resources offices, and constable evidence rooms. Hidalgo, who has said she supports law enforcement raises, also argued the county should have asked voters about a tax proposal to fund them. She has about three months left in office.
Dozens of speakers opposed the increase before the vote, including Harris County GOP Chair Cindy Siegel and Republican nominees Marc Cowart for county treasurer and Jacqueline Lucci Smith for county attorney.
The rate first advanced Sept. 8 on a 3-2 vote, as Texas Scorecard reported. Deputy raises will continue phasing in through 2030, when law enforcement raises are projected to add close to $292 million a year to the budget, and indigent defense costs have doubled over five years to $126 million.
