AlaskanAg99 said:

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Well that article is paywalled.
Cliffs?

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Quote:

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Leaders from 66 Harris County departments will appear before Commissioners Court this week in a bid to protect their staff and initiatives from looming cuts driven by the county's budget woes.

Many departments could face layoffs as the county seeks to close its projected $129 million deficit, budget director Daniel Ramos said Monday. That figure assumes commissioners adopt the higher of the two property tax rates allowed under Texas law this fall. Choosing the lower rate would balloon the deficit to roughly $287 million.

Harris County's fiscal outlook was similarly bleak last year, when officials closed a $130 million deficit partly by implementing a countywide hiring freeze. But Ramos said the county has run out of easy options.

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"Really, where we're at is people," Ramos said during Monday's budget hearing. "We're kind of past being able to dig into vacancies, dig into unspent funds. We're really at the point where you're making decisions about who's staying and who's going."



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Department heads have identified potential reductions they will lay out in this week's budget hearings, said Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston. Leaders are expected to offer a "menu" of potential cuts, with commissioners ultimately deciding which to approve or reject.

"They're going to plead their case on why some of their proposed cuts they cannot do and continue functioning at the same level," Sims said.

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The anticipated shortfall for the coming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, marks the fifth consecutive year the county has projected a deficit.

Among the driving factors, Ramos said, are sweeping pay raises for civilian employees making less than $75,000 and for county law enforcement.

The deputy raises, part of a measure aimed at matching pay for county law enforcement with the salaries offered by the Houston Police Department, will, on average, increase salary costs by roughly 50% over the next five years. The law enforcement raises in the coming budget will add $73 million in costs compared to the current fiscal year.

Combined, the raises for Harris County law enforcement including the fire marshal, eight constables and Harris County Sheriff's Office will add $292 million in annual expenses to the budget by the time the raises are fully implemented in 2030, according to county estimates.

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To afford that, Ramos said the county in the coming years will have to scale back services.

"We're really going to have to decide: 'Hey, what functions are we going to stop doing? What is the least impactful to our residents? What are the things that we're going to really focus on maintaining?" Ramos said.

The raises came amid increasing inflation that has driven other costs, such as those related to fleet management, technical support and other service.

"The government is no different than individual citizens. Everything is costing more," Sims said. "The cost of everything is going up. It's no different than our own household budgets costing us more to live. The county is doing the same thing."

The county faces a bleak fiscal outlook, but unlike the city of Houston, its budget process typically flies under the radar of most residents, Sims said. Sims isn't entirely sure why the county enjoys less scrutiny than its municipal counterpart, particularly considering its influence over property tax rates, she said.

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"They've actually raised their taxes more than other entities in the area in recent years, and so it's just fascinating to me that people take so little interest in what's happening at the county," Sims said.

Since 2023, Harris County has raised its tax rate 35 cents per $100 in appraised value to roughly 38 cents a 9% increase over two years.

Budget hearings are expected to run through Thursday. Commissioners typically do not attend the meetings, but will occasionally make an appearance for departments they have an interest in. A complete schedule can be found on the Commissioners Court website.

Correction (July 14): This article has been updated to list the county's correct 2023 tax rate and the rate at which the rate increased from 2023 to 2025.

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Mas89 said:

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Harris County budget director Daniel Ramos. I have only two questions about him.
1. What is his salary?
2. Where did he get his accounting degree and cpa license?

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Mega Lops said:

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Mas89 said:

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Harris County budget director Daniel Ramos. I have only two questions about him.
1. What is his salary?
2. Where did he get his accounting degree and cpa license?

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411K, Johns Hopkins BA and MBA

https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-bureaucrats-among-americas-highest-paid-government-employees/

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MAROON said:

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you have a buddy who is friends with her and actually texts her?

I assume he is a true believer democratic socialist?

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Ryan the Temp said:

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Quote:

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Leaders from 66 Harris County departments will appear before Commissioners Court this week in a bid to protect their staff and initiatives from looming cuts driven by the county's budget woes.

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Wait ... what? SIXTY-SIX departments???

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Scruffy said:

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Are the lynching on a schedule?
I mean if I know I can bring the family and have a day of of it I'm totally down.

If I can't plan on a full day of riding the light rail to the museums, seeing vagrants piss on the train, and end with a full evening of lynchings, but instead its just general changing consumer habits that I can get from a Kroger off cypress I dont see the draw.

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JimJonesAg11 said:

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MAROON said:

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you have a buddy who is friends with her and actually texts her?

I assume he is a true believer democratic socialist?

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yeah thats fing weird what self-respecting person would be on text chain with her.

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In a statement, KPRC-TV announced that it has suspended news anchor Daniella Guzman "pending the result of a company investigation." The suspension comes after @TheTXVoice reported that she (along with an assortment of politicians and other politically connected folks) received…

— Mark McCaig (@MarkMcCaig) July 29, 2026

StillNotAnAggie said:

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Which one of y'all is this?

In a statement, KPRC-TV announced that it has suspended news anchor Daniella Guzman "pending the result of a company investigation." The suspension comes after @TheTXVoice reported that she (along with an assortment of politicians and other politically connected folks) received…

— Mark McCaig (@MarkMcCaig) July 29, 2026

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Texan_Aggie said:

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I'm dumb but... why are we concerned a news anchor received free tickets?

Ironic it gets the lead while all the county officials and politicians get buried.

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