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Harris County budget director outlines countywide offsets and pilot for 0-based budgeting
Summary
Budget Director Daniel Ramos told Commissioners Court the county is pursuing countywide offsets, has reaffirmed an AAA rating, and plans a pilot for 0-based budgeting requiring software, a project manager and dedicated court staff to baseline programs and identify priority-driven funding.
Daniel Ramos, Harris County budget director, framed the FY27 fiscal challenge as the end of one-time remedies and the start of deeper structural choices: "We're kind of past being able to dig into vacancies and unspent funds. We're really at the point where you're making decisions about who's staying, who's going," Ramos said.
Ramos defended the prior hiring freeze and said the county remains AAA-rated but cautioned that large capital projects (notably a jail/treatment facility) and reserve targets could put pressure on the tax rate. He described offset options that would be accomplished through fund transfers, administrative moves, fee changes and departmental management. Ramos also described a planned pilot for high/zero-based budgeting that would include procurement of software, a project manager and court-office staff participation to compare programs across jurisdictions and baseline costs.
Court offices asked for more detail on which departments would be responsible for particular offsets and how revenues from fee changes would be implemented; Ramos said some fee or transfer actions would be led by the owning department and others would require collaboration with OMB, the county attorney and the auditor. He emphasized that the county has been budgeting year-round to respond to state mandates and that contract patrol/law enforcement funding changes from the Legislature remain a major near-term risk.
Provenance: Based on OMB presentation and Q&A (topicintro: SEG 618; topfinish: SEG 1177).
