CITY& COUNTY
News from Tomball, Magnolia and Harris & Montgomery counties
$3.2million in rental assistance returned toU.S. Treasury
Montgomery County’s remaining rental assistance is split with four nonpro ts that have funds on hand.
OUTSTANDING RENTAL ASSISTANCE
Society of Samaritans:
$2.4 MILLION
Montgomery County Community Assistance Center:
$2.6 MILLION
Easter Seals:
$2 MILLION
BY JISHNU NAIR
Interfaith of The Woodlands: $550,000
MONTGOMERY COUNTY Commissioners approved a deobligation of $3.2 million in emer- gency rental assistance funds to the U.S. Treasury Department at a March 8 Montgomery County Commissioners Court session. The money was approved via the meeting’s consent agenda, meaning there was no discussion at court. The Treasury Department has set a March 31 deadline to recapture unused assistance funds. In 2020, the county received $18.1 million in emergency rental assistance funds through December; the county returned $7.1 million of that in November 2021, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. Following that release, the county created a new assistance portal for residents to apply for aid. County Judge Mark Keough cited a lack of
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
assistance is split into contracts with four nonprof- its and $2,000 in unobligated funding. Three of those nonpro ts saw their amounts amended after the March 8 deobligation. Tamara Young, the Community Assistance Cen- ter’s director of programs and client services, told Community Impact Newspaper the funds’ impact is “real and runs deep.” “Sometimes we are their last hope,” Young said. “‘Strengthening Montgomery County one neighbor at a time’ is our motto, and we are thankful for the opportunity to partner with Montgomery County to utilize ERA funding to be able to do just this.”
applicants in November but anticipated more residents would seek the emergency funding in 2022, when other federal grants expire. Commu- nity Development Director Rebecca Ansley told Community Impact Newspaper in a March 9 email that the county had spent $929,444.03 in aid as of December. Ansley said 1,162 applicants had led for Mont- gomery County rental assistance before the portal closed Jan. 14. The nonpro t Texas Housers, using data from Texas’ O ce of Court Administration and Montgomery County courts, found 2,456 eviction cases were led in 2021. The county’s remaining $7.7 million in rental
Elections administrator announces resignation followingMarch primaries
Tomball Fire Department needs to add 21 re ghters by 2026, chief says
re ghters on each truck. With existing sta ng, Sykora said there are three re ghters on each truck and a re ghter serving as battalion chief during each shift. He said the department calls in other cities to help meet compliance. In addition, Station No. 4 is in design for southeast Tomball, an area that has seen a signi cant amount of growth, Sykora said. He said the department projects a 21% increase in calls per 1,000 people from the southeast region. Assistant Chief Je Cook said the new station will reduce the calls to the other three stations. Station No. 4 is funded by Harris County Emergency Services District No. 15, which contracts with the city. Sykora said the station’s estimated groundbreaking in April has been delayed.
BY DANICA LLOYD
Additionally,
HARRIS COUNTY Following sev- eral issues in the March 1 primary elections, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria announced her resignation, e ec- tive July 1, at the March 8 Commis- sioners Court meeting. She said this date will allow the Harris County Elections Commission su cient time to appoint a replacement. “Ultimately, the buck stops with me to address these issues and conduct elections on behalf of the voters. I didn’t meet my own standard, nor the standard set by Commissioners Court in doing so,” she said. Just after the polls closed March 1, the Texas secretary of state’s o ce said in a news release Harris County would not be able to count and report votes by the stat- utory deadline of 7 p.m. March 2. Longoria said she believed this state law was arbitrary and outdated and did not re ect the increased number of votes nor the technological and accountability standards in place.
about 10,000 ballots were
discovered after the nal count. The votes were scanned into the
BY KAYLI THOMPSON
TOMBALL The city of Tomball held a special workshop meeting Feb. 21 with the Tomball Fire Department presenting its long- range plan, including needs for 21 re ghters by 2026 as well as three dispatchers, new equipment and Station No. 4 over the next few years. Fire Chief Joe Sykora said the department is not meeting national standards with personnel numbers; standards call for four
elections com- puter but were not transferred and counted. Longoria was sworn into her position in mid-November 2020. The o ce’s responsibilities include duties previously split between the county clerk and tax-assessor collector. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Com- missioner Jack Cagle suggested transitioning election responsibil- ities back to the county clerk and tax-assessor collector. However, County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s motion to engage a third- party consultant to review election operations and recommend e cien- cies for the remaining elections this year passed with a 3-2 vote. Isabel Longoria
Tomball Fire Chief Joe Sykora said the department projects needing to add 21 re ghters by 2026 to accommodate new stations and more calls. NUMBER OF FIREFIGHTERS ADDED PER YEAR: ADDING POSITIONS
2023: 9
2024: 6
2025: 3 2026: 3
SOURCE: JOE SYKORA, TOMBALL FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
22
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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