Some county personnel were grilled Thursday during a Commissioners Court meeting.
HOUSTON, Texas — The biggest flood bond in Harris County history is facing a major shortfall.
The dilemma prompted hours of discussion Thursday among Harris County Commissioners.
Voters approved a $2.5 billion flood control bond in 2018, a year after Hurricane Harvey.
But now, there’s not enough money to complete all 181 projects.
More than 40 have been completed while many more remain in the works.
But rising costs of things like right-of-away acquisition, construction, and federal funding not being fully realized have resulted in a $1.3 billion shortfall, according to the Harris County Flood District.
Judge Lina Hidalgo also shared her frustration.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Hidalgo. “Over the years, we’ve discussed this and we’ve been told by the department heads that, you know, they’re able to pull money from here and money from there and maybe we can make it work.”
“And what ultimately becomes very clear now is, really, they can’t possibly be done.”
Commissioners agreed to fund the first of four “groups” of projects from a prioritization framework.
The flood control district must also provide a more detailed schedule and create a dashboard for the public to better keep up with what’s being done.
“We need to make sure we’re instilling that public trust and confidence in making sure we’re putting information out that is very clear for everyone to understand,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones.
Judge Hidalgo believes the 2018 bond should have been more robust in the first place and probably would have passed since it came along so soon after Harvey.