HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Nearly two weeks after signing off on a massive pay bump for the county’s eight elected constables, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the commissioners are sounding the alarm on an impending budget deficit.
What they’re not seeing eye-to-eye on is how much that deficit will actually be.
While Hidalgo said she thinks Harris County’s budget will be $220 million off, other county commissioners believe it will be substantially less than that.
“We are on track to pass a balanced budget that protects all of our fundamental non-negotiable services in a way that finds smart savings and does more with less,” Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Leslie Briones said.
Briones and Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia believe the budget gap will be about $50 million.
Hidalgo said the county’s budget deficit could jeopardize programs ranging from public safety to flood control. She also suggested other commissioners might not be telling the whole story when it comes to the budget.
“As election season is ramping up, they (other commissioners) may not be telling you this, but the reality is they’re cutting programs that are necessary so that they can increase salaries for a politically powerful group without having to go to the voters and answer for it,” Hidalgo said.
On Tuesday morning, community members gathered outside the Commissioners Court calling for transparency in how taxpayer money is being spent. They also voiced concerns over the salary increase for county constables.
“The commissioners who support the budget cuts need to come clean to the community. Our lives must be driven … these conversations must be driven by our lives and not political gains and aspirations,” resident Courtney Rebels said.
The six-figure pay raise for constables raises their salaries by more than $114,000 each, to about $293,000 a year.
Hidalgo said that while she supports funding for law enforcement, she believes the raises are fiscally irresponsible.
Final approval for the Harris County budget is set for Sept. 9.
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