What you might not know is that this tax increase was preventable, and it didn’t have to be this way. External factors like inflation and federal cuts certainly made the Harris County budget tighter this year, but those constraints weren’t the primary causes of the property tax increase. Over the past four years, Commissioners Court has repeatedly voted to approve programs and initiatives (against the recommendation of the budget director) knowing that the budget didn’t have money to fund them, including massive increases in police salaries. On the other hand, Judge Hidalgo has never voted for a program unless she knew where the money was coming from.

Judge Hidalgo stepped out of the courtroom during the tax rate vote in an effort to deny the Court the quorum needed to adopt the tax rate. Had another member also stepped out, the vote could not have proceeded, giving Commissioners Court additional time to revisit the budget, identify spending reductions and address the county’s structural deficit going forward.

While Judge Hidalgo wasn’t able to stop the budget from passing this fiscal year, she will continue to fight for transparency and fiscal responsibility going forward by advocating to:

• Cut programs that don’t align with the strategic plan or aren’t statutory responsibilities
• Stop spending money on expenses Harris County can’t afford, and stop committing county funds before knowing where the money will come from.
• Address wasteful systems and restructuring Harris County’s whole operation to be less wasteful.

Throughout the budget process, Judge Hidalgo continued to advocate for children. She proposed directing $400,000 in unallocated funds to the Early Childhood Resiliency Fund, an established program funded by American Rescue Plan dollars that provides mental health services to children and families exposed to domestic violence. Her motion did not receive a second and therefore was not considered for a vote by her colleagues. Without another source of funding, the Early Childhood Resiliency Fund program will end at the end of this year.