Harris County leaders are working to close a $200M budget shortfall without raising property taxes, despite persistent rumors of service cuts.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Harris County leaders are working to close a $200 million shortfall in the 2026 budget while pushing back against what they call misinformation about potential property tax hikes and cuts to essential services.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo confirmed the deficit comes as the county raises pay for law enforcement and tries to balance funding for dozens of programs she says the county can’t afford at current levels. While some discussions have included possible reductions to non-essential services such as libraries and animal shelters, several commissioners insist there’s no plan to raise property taxes or slash core services.
Hidalgo said she previously proposed a penny tax to sustain early childhood programs, but that measure failed.
Two press conferences, one message
Thursday morning, two separate press conferences were held — one with Commissioners Adrian Garcia and Lesley Briones, and another with Judge Hidalgo. Both focused not just on the budget numbers, but also on correcting what some officials call misleading narratives.
“…the biggest frustration for me — one, misinformation, and secondly the just outright false narrative that property taxes were going to be raised and that services are being cut. That’s been the biggest frustration, so I need your help to get that message out that today, the work is being done,” Garcia said.
“…we know also that there has not been any effort to go to the voters to ask to cover these costs — that is also a fact. So I’d like to see them show me where they’re growing money on trees. Other than that, I’m not asking for any leap of faith in explaining the facts — I’m simply walking people through the numbers,” Hidalgo said.
What’s next
County leaders say the next step is to work department by department to identify savings and efficiencies. Public budget hearings are scheduled for early September, allowing residents to weigh in on spending priorities. A final budget vote is expected later in the month.
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