Despite last minute pushback from District Attorney Kim Ogg and the panel’s lone Republican, Harris County Commissioners Court passed its $2.67 billion budget Thursday.  

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey attempted, unsuccessfully, to add back $6 million to the Harris County District Attorney’s office’s budget that was removed after the district attorney’s office failed to comply with a requirement that departments propose spending plans that include  potential cuts equal to 5 percent of last year’s budget.

Ogg and members of her top brass spoke before the court earlier Thursday, saying that without the $6 million the office would need to layoff experienced employees. 

Harris County Budget Director Daniel Ramos rebutted the claim, saying the district attorney’s current budget would carry the office through the end of the year without issue.

To assuage Ogg’s concerns, the court amended the budget by instructing the county’s office of management and budget to work with the district attorney’s office to ensure no layoffs take place between the start of the next fiscal year in October and the beginning of 2025 when a new district attorney will take office.

Also baked into this year’s budget is the start of a five-year plan to help offset any future structural deficits to the county’s finances. Each year, the amount of deficit reductions will vary based on necessity, Ramos said.

This year the budget includes nearly $26 million in deficit reductions.

Those reductions largely will come in the form of revenue enhancements, much of it in a direct transfer from the Harris County Toll Road Authority. The budget only includes $1 million in cost-cutting measures to reduce the current deficit. 

Budget drivers

The budget office identified jail costs, indigent defense, natural disasters and health care costs as key factors his office had to take into account when creating the fiscal 2025 spending plan.

Population growth in the county jail has caused $85 million in additional spending, Ramos wrote. When the Texas Commission on Jail Standards began decreasing the Harris County Jail’s bed capacity, more spending was needed to outsource inmates.

The county’s indigent defense costs also have increased in recent years. Last year alone, Harris County spent more than $100 million on court-appointed lawyers for people who cannot afford to pay for their own legal representation.

Three natural disasters – the May 2 flooding event, the May 16 Derecho and Hurricane Beryl – will require about $50 million in clean-up expenses. The county, however, is anticipating the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse 70 percent of those costs. 

The county also is budgeting for an increase in health care costs for its employees in the next fiscal year, anticipating a “substantial” rise in medical inflation.

Raising tax rates

In addition to the budget, Commissioners Court also approved the first  overall property tax rate increase in six years.

The court formally increased the overall property tax rate to 60.4 cents per $100 of assessed value, just more than 7 cents higher than the current levy.

For the owner of a $274,000 home – the median home value in Harris County, according to the Harris Central Appraisal District – with the standard 20 percent homestead exemption, next year’s tax bill will go up about $162.

One part of the county’s property tax rate, the Harris County Flood Control District levy, is contingent upon voter approval this November. 

Commissioners Court is asking voters to approve a flood control rate of 3.78 cents per $100 of assessed value – a 1.5-cent increase – to help modernize the county’s flood mitigation system.

If approved, the increased tax rate would generate an additional $100 million in revenue for the Flood Control District. That money would be used to improve flood mitigation and allow the county to operate on a 67-year rehabilitation and replacement schedule. The district currently operates on a 270-year rehab and replacement rate.

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