2022 VOTER GUIDE
Previous bond votes
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 precincts can use this funding for any applicable capital road projects. A minimum of $220 million would be allocated to each precinct under this policy, and the remainder would either be allocated to each precinct based on need at a later date or man- aged centrally by the county engi- neer’s oce, Ramos said. “Any way you slice and dice, the precinct commissioners will have to make decisions of how to prioritize,” Rahman said. Another $200 million for neigh- borhood drainage would help get the county’s current $600 million-plus drainage program across the nish line, Rahman said, with 80%-90% of the projects to reduce ooding risk for around 4,000 structures set to be completed by 2024. “The structures, the pipes, the inlets you have [for] the ditches in your neighborhood [do] not have the capac- ity to handle more than 2-3 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour [period],” he said. Additionally, $100 million for road rehabilitation would go toward repair- ing roads in poor to fair condition; roads need attention before they dete- riorate so much to require rebuilding, Rahman said. Rebuilding a road can cost six to 10 times more than rehabili- tating it, he said. Of the remaining money, $200 mil- lion would go to partnership funding with local entities; $50 million would fund multimodal transit, such as side- walks; and $50 million would fund Vision Zero—a program to reduce traf- c-related fatalities by re-engineering high-injury corridors.
Parks and public safety The $200 million for parks and trails planned in the bond would be more than the $95 million and $60 million for parks in the 2007 and 2015 bonds, respectively, combined. Ramos said the commissioners have already spent their allocated money for parks and will be unable to fund any projects next year if the bond does not pass unless they pull from their general funds. He added the park funds could also help address unequal access to parks or parks not in compli- ance with the Americans with Disabil- ities Act. “Any time there is potential of more funding for parks and green space, we are in support,” said Beth White, pres- ident and CEO of the Houston Parks Board, in a statement. “We look for- ward to learning more about how the county bond might continue ... con- necting people to parks.” Meanwhile, the $100 million for public safety facilities could fund capital improvement projects. The Harris County Sheri«’s Oce pro- posed four at an Aug. 2 Commission- ers Court meeting, including a facility to train rst responders on ood and swift-water rescue operations and another facility to simulate active shooter scenarios. Sheri«’s oce spokesperson Jason Spencer said there has been ongoing dialogue for years with county depart- ments about law enforcement facility and training needs. “[The bond does not] address every need that we have, but we also recog- nize the need to be good stewards of resources and tax dollars,” Spencer said. “At the end of the day, we feel like [the bond] does make a signicant appreciable improvement and our ability to protect the community.”
Financial impact, timing concerns If approved, the bonds would lead to a tax rate increase of $0.012 per $100 valuation, Ramos said. For a homeowner whose house is valued at $300,000, the bond will cost $32 a year after homestead exemptions. Ramsey and Cagle have expressed concern about the tax impact on resi- dents with Cagle saying Aug. 2 this is not the time to tax the public. “[The public] had to tighten their belt coming out of the pandemic,” Cagle said. “We should do the same.” Ramos said because the county has paid o« its debt service above what was required, the $32 a year would not increase taxes by a corresponding amount for most taxpayers. He said he believes taxes for residents will con- tinue to decline over the next decade. Ramsey and Cagle both questioned the timing and transparency of the bond. Cagle cited the 23 meetings held during the Harris County Flood Con- trol District’s $2.5 billion bond in 2018. “We came to the public with 23 watershed meetings and told them what we were going to spend it on,” Cagle told Community Impact . Carl Apple, director of communi- cations for the county engineer, said outreach for the bond includes 24 community meetings. County ocials also cited higher voter turnout for elec- tions in even-number years. County elections oce’s data showed the 2018 election had a 52.86% voter turnout rate compared to 16.72% in 2019. “We’re giving this bond package the full opportunity to be seen and heard by the voters,” Garcia told Community Impact .
A higher percentage of voters approved of the county’s 2015 bond than in 2007, which also saw a proposition fail.
Passed Did not pass
2007 BOND
5
1
Prop. 1: $190M
1
4
in road bonds
$630M total proposed
2
Prop. 2: $95M
in park bonds
Prop. 3: $195M for central processing and adult detention center Prop. 4: $80M for medical examiner’s forensic center 3 4
2
3
Prop. 5: $70M for family law center $435M approved 5
2015 BOND Prop. 1: $700M
3 4
2
1
in road bonds
$848M approved $848M total proposed 1
Prop. 2: $60M
2
in park bonds
3 Prop. 3: $24M for animal shelter Prop. 4: $64M for ood control 4
The county is holding 24 public bond meetings. Visit www.harriscounty2022 bond.org for more information. Informing the public
IN PERSON
Oct. 15: 10 a.m. at Felix L. Baldree Community Center, 13828 Corpus Christi St., Houston Oct. 17: 6 p.m. at BakerRipley Pasadena Campus, 720 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena
V I RTUAL
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF THE ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATORCOMMUNITY IMPACT Oct. 18-20: online from noon-1 p.m., 6-7 p.m.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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SPRING KLEIN EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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