Coverage of Harris County government: Commissioners Court agendas and votes, the county budget and property tax rate, the Flood Control District, county contracts and audits, and the countywide offices that spend the money. We link the primary document on every claim so you can check us.
Voters approved $70 million in November 2024. This week’s award funds demolition of a wastewater plant an engineering report priced out 21 months ago.
The $110 million Cypress Ditch project has all but $1 million of its funding named and landed on time. The first phase has slipped about a year in four months.
Commissioners Court voted 3-2 on September 8 to advance a proposed county rate of up to $0.41750 per $100. That is a ceiling, not the rate on your bill. The public hearing and the adoption vote are both September 17.
Three Texas cities left or paused their plate reader contracts in one week. Harris County has 480 cameras and has not scheduled the meeting its county judge asked for.
The Cy-Fair fire district spent its September 10 workshop on a 4.2 percent raise. The largest cut available closes about 37 percent of the shortfall.
Zeroing out the raise saves ESD 9 $3 million. The gap is $8.1 million. Read More »
Commissioners moved $1.4 million on September 8 to lift 222 Harris Center workers to $20 an hour. The Harris Center says it employs more than 2,000. Neither story printed the second number.
Plummer says Sanchez quit. Sanchez’s campaign says Plummer’s connection failed. The stream recorded about 10 minutes, and as of September 13 no outlet has posted it.
The county adopts its property tax rate September 17. Published estimates of the cost to the average homeowner range from $120 to $193, and none of the coverage printed the taxable value behind them.
The county says the public can observe logic and accuracy testing for November 3. Its own Election Reports page lists 12 test reports, the newest from June 15, 2024.
Trustees put a 12-cent tax rate increase and a $1.63 billion bond on the November 3 ballot 6 to 1. The coverage printed the rate and left out the bill.
Baytown adopted $0.69803 per $100 on September 10, same as last year. No-new-revenue was $0.68517 and values rose 3.39 percent.
County auditor invoices show Harris County paid Flock $302,650 in the pilot’s first year, 88.6 percent above the $160,500 commissioners approved. The published totals still do not reach $1.3 million.