Harris County’s Appalling Lack of Transparency

6/12/25 – As Harris County begins setting its budget for 2026, a number of events have underscored the County’s appalling lack of transparency that involve billions of dollars in spending. For example:

• An empty transmittal to Commissioners Court by the Office of Management and Budget that should have communicated level-of-service projections for budget discussions.
• County Attorney Christian Menefee’s automatic appeal of every Public Information Request made by investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino to the Texas Attorney General’s office.
• The County Engineer’s failure to detail where 2022 bond money is being spent.
• Missed deadlines by the County Engineer and Flood Control District to account for subdivision drainage expenditures and 2018 Flood Bond project funds.

Projected $270 Million Shortfall and Tax Increase

The County has a mandatory deadline of September 30, 2025 to set its budget for the next fiscal year. And this year won’t be pleasant. According to the Houston Chronicle, the county now faces a $270 million deficit for next year, more than double earlier projections.

As Commissioners Court debates which program budgets can be reduced and which genuinely need increases, they are reportedly also exploring a possible tax-rate election. Such an election is required under Texas statutes if the county seeks to raise taxes above certain limits.

But there is an appalling lack of information available on current and projected budgets by departments. That information is necessary for citizens to evaluate whether a tax increase is justified and to participate in the process.

Example: A “transmittal” by the Office of Management and Budget on today’s Commissioners Court agenda was to have described updates to the FY2026 Level of Service Projections. See Item 300. But when you click on the link for more information, the linked document had absolutely NO details.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey questioned budget director Daniel Ramos about it. Ramos promised to have details for the next commissioners court meeting on 6/26/25. We’ve been hearing that since February. Regardless, the three Democratic commissioners voted to “accept” the empty transmittal. Judge Lina Hidalgo was absent.

Automatic Appeals of Public Information Requests

At an hour-long talk in Humble on June 9, 2025 to a group of concerned citizens, legendary investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino described his problems prying information out of Harris County.

He stated that Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee (who is running for Congress while still acting as county attorney) systematically denies every request for public information that Dolcefino makes.

Dolcefino says that Menefee appeals them all to Attorney General Ken Paxton. That forces Dolcefino to appeal the appeals. And that draws out the process and increases his costs – some by thousands of dollars.

Many of his requests are ridiculously simple, i.e., for an invoice. In one of the cases where Dolcefino’s appeal succeeded, he says that Menefee’s office supplied him with an invoice for a million dollars that had absolutely no backup or detail. Yet the County paid it.

Dolcefino thanks Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale for helping to support his quest to shine light on the County’s cult of secrecy surrounding its financial operations.

Where is That 2022 Bond Money Going?

In November 2022, Harris County voters approved three bond propositions totaling $1.2 billion for public safety facilities, roads, drainage, transportation-related programs, parks, and trails.

Of the total amount, $100 million is designated for countywide public-safety investments. The remaining $1.1 billion will be allocated across the four Harris County precincts for transportation, parks, and trail projects.

The engineer’s website contains information about where money is going for several public-safety facilities.

But despite having spent $116.7 million dollars in the last three years, the county engineer provides absolutely no detail on what the transportation, parks, and trails money has bought.

No Requested Update on Flood Bond/Subdivision Drainage Expenditures in 126 days

On February 6, Commissioners Court erupted into a rare display of bipartisan outrage when it became clear that the County didn’t have enough money to deliver flood-mitigation projects promised long ago. The shortfalls had to do with the 2018 Flood Bond and Subdivision Drainage programs.

One hundred and twenty-six days later, commissioners are still waiting for a simple report that details:

• Sources of funding
• Status of each project
• Expected time to completion
• How cost has changed over time
• Whether there was a change in scope

The 2018 Flood Bond contained 181 projects totaling $5.2 billion. A 27.5% compound rate of inflation since 2018 has undermined a sizable, but undetermined chunk of the program’s purchasing power.

Commissioners worry whether enough money remains to complete priority projects in their precincts.

Transparency Needed for Accountability

In the last two years under Lina Hidalgo, Harris County has spent more than $5 billion dollars of your tax money. But no one can tell you, or at least will tell you, where that money has gone.

And yet the County wants more of your money. Some may be going to worthwhile programs. But until Harris County supplies more details, it will be hard to tell. We need transparency to hold elected officials accountable.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/12/25

2844 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.