HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — There’s some uncertainty around whether Harris County Commissioners will be able to pass a new budget Tuesday.
Republican commissioners have hinted that they may not show up to, in effect, “veto” the budget proposal.
It’s a proposed $2.2 billion budget with a 1% tax reduction, but if there aren’t enough commissioners for a quorum, the budget could fail -- leaving county programs on the chopping block.
“Tomorrow can be a historical day in a good way, or it can be a historical day in a not-so-good way,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said.
Garcia, a Democrat, is talking about having enough members at the meeting to move forward with Harris County’s new proposed budget.
“Two commissioners who speak so loudly about supporting law enforcement and about caring about infrastructure would be the ones responsible for the largest cuts in infrastructure and in public safety,” Garcia said.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, both Republicans, aren’t publicly committing to attend the meeting.
In part, they claim the new budget defunds or underfunds constable offices.
Ramsey’s office said the meeting is on his calendar. Ramsey's office issued this statement:
"At the last Commissioners Court meeting, I asked to fund 200 additional patrol officers for the Sheriff and Constable's offices, which would only take up 20% of the County’s new revenue. We have to prioritize our spending. We must find a way to fund those who protect us. All I ask is for 200 patrol officers, which is $20M of the $100M we’ll be receiving in increased revenue."
Cagle, who wants to revert back to the 2019 budget, said he “does not comment on how he will vote on Commissioners Court issues before court meetings.”
Last week, Cagle said he’s not detailing whether he will appear at the meeting.
“That old law that said that you need a quorum of four if you’re going to raise the taxes without the public’s consent ... there’s some old adage there that also talks about the judge is able to ask any sheriff to come to enforce the quorum and so I’m not going to say in advance whether I’m going to be there or not,” Cagle said.
Garcia said the stakes are too high to not take the budget seriously from increases to public safety.
“That’s going into the sheriff’s budget. That’s going into constables' budgets. That’s going into the district attorney’s office ... $100 million will go into public safety,” he said.
Possible program cuts including law enforcement if there’s no action on a budget.
“It is flood control, it is drainage improvements, it’s pothole repair it’s sidewalk construction, sidewalk repairs— it is all those things that make people proud of where they live,” Garcia said.
Commissioners also said important county programs could be on the chopping block or scaled back. That could include spraying for mosquitos, restaurant inspection, election funding and animal services. The county’s public health clinic, pollution control and permitting department could also be in question.