Harris County leaders are holding separate, back-to-back news conferences about the county budget on Tuesday morning.
MORE: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo to address budget, critical services at press conference
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones spoke at 8:30 a.m. in Commissioners Court, followed by County Judge Lina Hidalgo at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Court lobby at the Harris County Administration Building
Briones’ proposal includes a hiring freeze, leaving some positions unfilled, ending a jail outsourcing contract, cutting technology expenses, and using revenue more strategically while trimming funds from departments with excess resources.
The joint scheduling came weeks after tensions flared during a Commissioner’s Court meeting, and Hidalgo was formally censured.
At her press conference, Hidalgo focused on the county’s $220 million budget deficit and warned of potential service cuts.
“$220 million is not chump change. It’s not money you find under couch cushions. It’s not something you can possibly find without cutting services,” she said. She criticized the use of one-time funding and vague efficiencies, adding, “When they say efficiencies, what we should hear is they are spendaholics. When they say they have balanced the budget, they are deficit deniers.”
The County Judge previously proposed a tax increase to continue funding child-care programs started with federal pandemic relief funds, which are set to expire next year. The measure would have asked voters whether to continue expanding child-care slots and quality improvements, but it was not placed on the November ballot before the noon deadline, and as a result, failed to proceed.
“We had a proposal on Commissioners Court to ask the voters in November whether or not they wanted to continue funding early education, and I could not get support from my Democratic colleagues to just put that on the ballot,” Hidalgo said after the decision. “I think we’re sort of, as Democrats, becoming what we voted against. I’m so disappointed, but we live to fight another day.”
“I was disappointed to witness Judge Hidalgo’s disruptive behavior at Commissioners Court today; it distracted from the serious issues before us,” Briones noted shortly after the incident in early August. “As colleagues, we may disagree, but fundamental respect and decorum are non-negotiable. The democratic process is built on civil debate, and as elected leaders, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards. The people of Harris County deserve better.”
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