Government
BY MELISSA ENAJE & CASSANDRA JENKINS
Harris County approves $10M for criminal courts An estimated $10 million comprehensive reform initiative aimed at advancing quality and e ciency within Harris County’s district criminal courts was unanimously approved by county commissioners at an Aug. 6 meeting. The plan, spearheaded by Precinct 4 Commis- sioner Lesley Briones, will invest in ve areas,
Voter registration initiatives approved By a vote of 4-1, Harris County commis- sioners approved a voter registration pilot program aimed at increasing total voter turnout numbers at elections, including among marginalized and working-class communities. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey cast the dissenting vote at the Aug. 6 court meeting. The breakdown Carried out across multiple county depart- ments, the program includes: • Developing an unregistered voters map • Hiring a vendor to assist with voter outreach e orts • Implementing a text-to-register program and other registration pilot programs
West U holds record vote on tax rate Members of the West University Place City Council held a record vote Aug. 12 on a proposed property tax rate of $0.241930 per $100 valuation. The rate will come back to the council for adoption Sept. 23, and the Council can choose to adopt a lower rate. Going forward A public hearing date for the city’s 2024-25 budget is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. West U’s budget will be presented to the council at a Sept. 23 meeting for adoption.
New police, re chiefs take over in Houston Houston Mayor John Whitmire named a new re chief in late July and a new police chief in early August, and both appointments were approved by Houston City Council at an Aug. 14 meeting. The big picture Thomas Muñoz, the city’s former coordinator for the O ce of Emergency Management, took over as the city’s new re chief. He replaced Sam Peña, who served as re chief since 2016. Muñoz holds a master’s degree in emergency management and a master’s degree in homeland security. He also served the Houston Fire Depart- ment for 24 years, earning the title of assistant chief of homeland security and planning in 2017. Also of note J. Noe Diaz, a former Texas Ranger and police chief for the city of Katy, was named the new
including updating court technology and further reducing the criminal court backlog, while also providing bilingual assistance and mental health support services to defendants. Funding for the project will come from a combination of capital improvement, general and American Rescue Plan Act funds, according to Briones’ o ce. Expanding mental health support along with the jail-based competency restoration program will result in jail population reduction, District Court Judge Lori Gray said in a news release.
Thomas Muñoz
J. Noe Diaz
chief of police for the Houston Police Department. Diaz worked for over 10 years on various public corruption investigations, maintains top-secret clearance as a task force o cer for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Diaz replaced interim Police Chief Larry Satter- white, who held the position temporarily since former Police Chief Troy Finner retired in May. As the new chief, Diaz said he will focus on issues such as recruiting younger o cers, dealing with public corruption and enhancing technology within the department.
Harris County criminal district court active cases
While the number of criminal district court cases have decreased since 2022, the new investments are meant to further the momentum and address justice barriers that could delay the life cycle of cases.
0 50K 40K 30K 20K
49,513
Property tax rates by year
Fiscal year 2023-24
**Property tax levy: $21M
*$0.26084
29,579
Potential FY 2024-25
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
Dec.
Jan.
July
**Property tax levy: $20.6M
*$0.24193
2022
2023
2024
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS COMMUNITY IMPACT
* PER $100 OF VALUATION. **ESTIMATED SOURCE: CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE COMMUNITY IMPACT
BUFFALO SPEEDWAY 9733 Buffalo Speedway (713) 838-7486
HOLCOMBE 2314 W Holcombe Blvd (713) 669-1722
WESLAYAN 3902 Bissonnet (713) 218-8144
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