HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Two Republican Harris County Commissioners skipped Tuesday's meeting in order to block a vote on a new county tax rate.
Without them present, there weren't enough commissioners to legally move forward and the budget will be the same as it was last year.
Democratic Judge Lina Hidalgo said the proposed 1% budget cut is the largest in 32 years. Republicans said rising property values still mean that taxpayers will be paying more than last year.
The commissioners who skipped the vote, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, said they believe they're helping taxpayers. Democrats said they'll now have more than $100 million less to fund public safety, health care and other key services. They previously hinted at their plans to skip the meeting.
In a statement, Cagle wrote: “Now is not the time for local government to take advantage of inflated property appraisals to pay for an expanded government footprint. Now is when we should be fighting alongside taxpayers to help them dig out from under the rubble.”
Ramsey said in part, "I’m not against spending money. I’m for using it properly, not wasting it."
Ramsey said he identified enough of what he considers waste to make up the $100 million difference between the two budgets.
Hidalgo said the reduced budget includes millions of dollars in cuts.
"It will also include $150 million, possibly, in cuts to grants to public health. Over $100 million in cuts to grants to the public hospital system and so on and so forth for other departments. So, the multiplier effects will be larger and the effect will be across years," Hidalgo said.
Cagle and Ramsey are pledging $7 million each from their precinct budget to make up the difference for flood control.
Hidalgo said the county may be able to hold another meeting for the tax rate sometime in the next seven days, giving commissioners more time to figure it out.
“Harris County has grown by over 200,000 people, almost a quarter of a million people, in three years. And so obviously, you have to increase revenue to some extent in order to keep up with the demand for services,” Hidalgo said.