CITY & COUNTY
News from Houston & Harris County
Harris County Commissioners Court will meet for its regular meeting at 10 a.m. July 18 at 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. Meetings are livestreamed at www.harriscountytx.gov. Houston City Council will meet for public comment at 2 p.m. July 18 and regular business at 9 a.m. July 19 at City Hall, 901 Bagby St., Houston. www.houstontx.gov/htv. MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS HOUSTON On June 10, the city of Houston and Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis hosted the city’s fourth gun buyback event at NRG Park, collecting more than 1,400 guns over the course of the four-hour event. The total number of guns collected topped the previous high of just over 1,200 guns collected at the second gun buyback event in October. Houston’s gun buyback initiatives are part of One Safe Houston, a $53 million program aimed at reducing crime in the city. For those who exchanged guns during the event, event organizers provided gift cards. In total, more than 4,000 guns have been collected by the city since the rst event was held in July 2022.
Houston OKs agreement for ood projects, including in Cottage Grove
Harris County jurors will get pay boost starting in September
Seniors, disabled residents receive higher homestead exemptions
HOW IT WORKS A homestead exemption removes part of the value on a homeowner’s property from taxation and lowers the homeowner’s taxes. The following example shows how property taxes owed are calculated based on a home appraised at $300,000 with a homestead exemption of $25,000.
BY LEAH FOREMAN
ON THE HORIZON Funding has been allocated for four drainage projects in the Cottage Grove and Woodcrest areas, including roadside ditch improvements.
KANSASST.
HOUSTON At a June 14 meeting, Houston City Council members voted to approve an interlocal agreement between the city and the Harris County Flood Control District on the design and construction of 24 ood mitigation projects through- out the city, including several in the Cottage Grove and Woodcrest areas. The overview: The projects, which are a part of the city’s Storm Water Action Team projects, total $39.4 million, with the city and HCFCD each paying half, or $19.7 million. The projects range from restoring existing infrastructure to upgrading infrastructure within speci c neigh- borhoods, and “have the capacity to greatly reduce ood damages for very speci c areas that would otherwise continue to su er the e ects of storm events,” according to the agenda item submitted by the city’s public works department.
BY MELISSA ENAJE
HARRIS COUNTY Commissioners unanimously voted May 16 to increase the homestead exemption for seniors and disabled homeowners. The increase is applied to the appraised value of a resident’s homestead for the 2023-24 tax year for bills that go out in October. The impact: Those who are legally de ned as disabled or those age 65 or older could qualify for an additional $25,000 o the appraised value of their homes. According to Harris Central Appraisal District documents, if residents are over age 65 and disabled, they may either receive the over-65 exemption or the disability homestead exemption, but not both. • For those who meet the age or disability requirements, the $25,000 increase raises the 2022 exemption from $250,000 to $275,000. • The savings for quali ed persons would average $130 per year. Terms to know: The Harris Central Appraisal District de nes a homestead as generally the house and land used as the homeowner’s principal residence Jan. 1 of the current tax year.
BY MELISSA ENAJE
HARRIS COUNTY Residents and registered voters serving jury duty from across Harris County will get a pay bump starting in September after the Texas Legislature approved the rst pay increase in the state since 2005, according to Harris County o cials. Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3474 on June 13 that calls for jury pay to increase from $6 to $20 for the rst day and from $40 to $58 on subse- quent days. “I am con dent this jury pay increase is a necessary rst step towards improving participation and having juries that re ect the diverse racial and socioeconomic demo- graphics of Harris County,” Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess said. “We can only achieve that if we pay our jurors fairly.”
Appraised value: Taxable value: $300,000 $25,000 $275,000 Homestead exemption: = -
10
Roadside ditch Phase 1A Roadside ditch Phase 1B Woodcrest regional analysis Roadside ditch
$275,000
100
$2,750
=
SCHULER ST.
Property taxes owed
$2,750
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
=
Tax rate
X
WASHINGTON AVE.
N
SOURCE: HARRIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT
A closer look: Among the 24 projects are one in Cottage Grove and three in Woodcrest. • Cottage Grove: Design and construction of a roadside ditch at Kansas at Sherwin streets • Woodcrest: Regional analysis of downstream improvements • Woodcrest: Roadside ditch construction at Cohn and Knox streets • Woodcrest: Roadside ditch
construction at Allen, Birdsall, Malone and Asbury streets
Quote of note: “This latest increase of the exemption should negate the impact of rising appraisal values on families across Harris County,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said in a news release. Going forward: Reaching 65 years does not automatically exempt senior homeowners from paying property taxes, according to Harris Central Appraisal District guidelines. • Seniors can obtain a homestead exemption form at www.hcad.org or contact the Harris Central Appraisal District at 713-957-7800.
What’s next: The city will construct each project on city property. Design on the Cottage Grove project could be completed by September. The city is working with CenterPoint Energy on gas line relocation in Woodcrest and will issue a notice to proceed with construction once they are relocated.
HOUSTON SUPERSTORE 2410 Smith Street (713) 526-8787
WESTCOTT AND MEMORIAL 5818 Memorial Dr (713) 861-4161
SHEPHERD 1900 S Shepherd (713) 529-4849
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