HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Friday claimed that Harris County defunded the Pct. 5 Constable's Office by more than $2 million in violation of state law.
Now, the county will be unable to set a new tax rate for next year.
The no new tax rate could impact county services, ranging from law enforcement salaries to the courts.
In a letter, Hegar detailed a budget drop from $48 million down to $46 million for Constable Ted Heap’s office.
Click here to read that full letter.
Democratic Harris County leaders said the letter is just another political ploy to try and punish the county.
On Friday night, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo responded to the claim, tweeting, "Comptroller Hegar and his allies seem to be struggling with basic accounting. Per Harris County’s 26 pay period accounting, funding for the Precinct 5 Constable’s office increased by almost two million dollars (from $46.6M to 48.5M) between the two budgets in question. I look forward to working with County Attorney Menefee on fighting this in court. In the meantime, Comptroller Hegar needs to go back to accounting class."
“The state of Texas is serious that we cannot be defunding, we cannot be reducing,” Pct. 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said.
$2.3 million is the amount Republican Comptroller Hegar said the county commissioners took away.
“I think it’s a choice that we’re spending the money the way we are— I think the comptroller is telling us to go back and do the math,” Ramsey, the lone Republican Harris County commissioner,said.
Texas state law requires police funding to be equal to or higher in year-to-year budget funding and makes it unlawful to reduce it.
“I think what you see is the state playing political games,” Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said.
Democrats pushed back, claiming the comptroller was trying to make headlines.
“We have increased funding, and we were attempting to significantly increase funding for traditional law enforcement and do other things that have been working around the country,” Ellis said.
Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee put it this way:
“We’re saying Comptroller Hegar’s math is wrong.”
The Democratic county attorney said he’s prepared, with the approval of the Commissioners Court, to take legal action against the state.
“Harris County’s got to keep doing business like it always done and set a tax rate and a budget and if we end up in the courtroom, that’s where we’ll be,” Menefee said.
In the meantime, the county must get approval from Hegar’s office to set new tax rates or get voters to approve a “reduction."
The county said it spends more than $200 million on constables, more than Dallas and Tarrant counties combined.
County Administrator David Berry gave KHOU 11 the following statement refuting the comptroller's claim:
"The numbers speak for themselves:
"Constable Heap's budget grew from an annualized $46,582,350 to $48,519,429 in the budget adopted last fall. Continuing these games will prevent millions of dollars of future investments in public safety, similar to what occurred last year when the County was forced to scrap the proposed budget that contained almost $100 million in additional funding for the Sheriff, Constables, District Attorney, and Criminal Courts. The no new revenue rate made it impossible to make these investments.
"Despite these challenges, Harris County continues to invest in law enforcement agencies, and more critical investments will be needed next year. Forcing the County to once again adopt the no new revenue rate would limit the investments that can be made. We remain committed to the residents of Harris County and are exploring all of our options at this time."
Below is Hidalgo's response to the defunding claim