Tomball - Magnolia Edition | September 2022

Figuring out the nancial impact

Harris County’s overall tax rate stayed at after voters approved the 2015 bond but has since declined each year since 2019. If approved, November’s bond would impact the tax rate by $0.012, but the total rate may not necessarily increase.

CONDITIONS IN HARRIS COUNTY

Identifying the need Daniel Ramos, executive director of the Harris County Oce of Management and Budget, described the bond as a “meat-and- potatoes” bond that would improve aging roads and drainage structures, add park space and invest in public safety facilities.

Tax rate (per $100 valuation)

$0.70 $0.65 $0.60 $0.55 $0.50 $0.45 $0.40 $0

+$0.012 if bond passes

$0.62998

County places $1.2B bond on Nov. 8 ballot

Voters approve $848M Harris County bond

ROADS

DRA I NAGE

105,000

588 260

miles of roads considered in poor to failed condition

structures outside the 100-year ood plain ooded during Hurricane Harvey

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022* 2023** Tax year 2016 2017 2020 2021

miles of roads with congested conditions

430

39%

trac-related fatalities per year on average

of roads have sidewalks

*PROPOSED RATE YET TO BE APPROVED **PROJECTED RATE SHOWN ASSUMES NO CHANGE ASIDE FROM BOND IMPACT

Annual cost to average homeowner if bond passes $32

PARKS

PUBLIC SAFETY

[The public] had to tighten their belt coming out of the pandemic ... and I think we should do the same. This is not the time [for a bond election].

Taxes for Harris County residents will continue to go down over the next decade, barring something unforeseen. DANIEL RAMOS,

4 new public safety facilities recommended by the Harris County Sheri’s Oce could be funded by bond:

• District 6

4.9 acres of parks per 1,000 people in Harris County 9.9 acres of parks per 1,000 people recommended by National Recreation and Parks Association

substation • 3 training facilities: • Flood and swift- water rescues • Driving

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

JACK CAGLE, HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4 COMMISSIONER

• Simulating active- shooter scenarios

SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

precincts can use this funding for any applicable capital road projects. The court members voted 3-2 to adopt a “worst-rst” policy to direct bond money to areas of greatest need during their Aug. 2 meeting with Ram- sey and Cagle opposed. A minimum of $220 million would be allocated to each precinct under this policy, and the remainder would either be allo- cated to each precinct based on the need at a later date or managed cen- trally by the county engineer’s oce, Ramos said.

The county did not publish a list of projects to the 2015 bond, according to prior Community Impact Newspa- per reporting. However, Grant Mar- tin—a political consultant who ran the 2012 and 2017 bond campaigns for the city of Houston—said it is not typical to have set project lists for bonds. “It’s tough to put a list of guar- anteed projects on a ballot because of the voters,” said Martin, who has run campaigns for Precinct 1 Com- missioner Rodney Ellis and is run- ning Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian

Garcia’s campaign. “You don’t want to be in a position where the voters have approved money for [a project that] is impossible to complete.” However, county ocials have presented some information on how the proposition funds could be spent during Commissioners Court meetings. Road work Out of $900 million in mobility bonds, $300 million would go to gen- eral road bonds. Harris County Engi- neer Milton Rahman said individual

CONTINUED FROM 1

The county has not published a list of projects that would use bond fund- ing—something Ramsey has voiced in his opposition to the bond. “I’m not saying you have to have 99% specic projects,” Ramsey said at an Aug. 2 meeting. “But to have no specic projects? To say, ‘Let me have a blank check on roads, ... parks [and] public safety’? When that’s out there, there’s not specics that you can communicate with people.”

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