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Commissioners approve several 2025 tax rates as public commenters press against FY2026 cuts
Summary
The court held public hearings and approved proposed 2025 tax rates for the Flood Control District, Harris Health System and Port of Houston Authority and approved the Flood Control District FY2026 budget. Dozens of public commenters urged the court to protect youth, mental health and housing programs while opponents criticized raises for constables and the proposed jail expansion.
Commissioners opened public hearings on proposed 2025 property tax rates and the FY2026 budgets for several taxing entities. With no public speakers on the specific tax-rate items, motion-and-vote action followed: the Flood Control District's proposed rate (0.04966) and the Port of Houston Authority rate (0.00590) were approved unanimously; the Harris County Hospital District / Harris Health System rate (0.18761) passed 4–1.
Following the hearings, dozens of residents and nonprofit leaders used the public-comment portion to press the court over budget priorities. “We need a budget that puts people over politics,” said Georgia, a Precinct 2 resident who testified about the consequences of the proposed cuts to youth and community programs. Multiple speakers urged commissioners to avoid balancing the budget on cuts to mental-health services, credible-messenger reentry programs and after-school programming while increasing law-enforcement pay. Several speakers cited a projected $200 million county deficit and warned that proposed use of ARPA funds and hiring freezes were short-term measures without long-term plans.
The court debated process and transparency; Judge Hidalgo (referred to in the record as the county judge) acknowledged the tax increase and said she would not support the general-fund budget as proposed, citing concerns about the cuts. Some commissioners defended targeted raises for constables and said statutory or market considerations informed those decisions. The court noted that the final general fund budget vote is scheduled for the following week, leaving an opportunity for further changes.
Votes recorded during the meeting included formal motions to adopt the Flood Control District tax rate (motion moved and passed), the Harris Health tax rate (motion passed 4–1) and the Port of Houston Authority rate (unanimous). The court also approved the FY2026 Flood Control District annual budget during the public-hearing block.
