Harris County commissioners officially approved a $2.67 billion budget and a 9.5 percent overall tax rate increase after weeks of discussion, pushback, and criticism from some county officials.
Harris County’s decision comes just weeks after neighboring Montgomery County approved an 8.9 percent property tax increase.
In early August, the all-Republican Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted to approve the increase, with Commissioners James Noack and Matt Gray opposing. The county budget director argued that the increase was necessary to fully fund law enforcement and “keep up with the needs across the county.”
Democrat-dominated Harris County shared a similar sentiment when approving its 9.5 percent increase. Of the county’s $2.6 billion budget, 59 percent is directed towards some form of public safety, including the public defender’s office, jail, overtime for court case backlogs, and the forensic science center.
However, outgoing Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg testified that the $6 million budget cut for her office would “dramatically impact the operations of the district attorney’s office in a negative way.”
The county budget director required all department directors to submit budgets with 5 percent across-the-board cuts. The district attorney’s office did not. So in retaliation, the county removed funding from the office. Ogg said this would lead to a “less safe” Harris County as her office would have to lay off prosecutors.
Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone “no” vote on the property tax increase, offered an amendment to add the $6 million back into the DA’s budget but was unsuccessful. Instead, the court approved an amendment by Democrat Commissioner Rodney Ellis that ordered the county budget office, auditor, and district attorney’s office to work together to avoid any layoffs before the end of Ogg’s term this year.
The county’s first tax increase in six years amounts to about seven cents higher than the existing tax rate. The average homesteaded property owner can expect to pay roughly $160 more in their county property tax bill.
County commissioners are also asking voters to approve a roughly $60 per homeowner property tax increase for the flood control district. That will be on the ballot this November alongside a $4.4 billion Houston ISD bond.
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