Harris County Commissioners Court voted July 28 to place an $848 million bond package on the ballot for the upcoming Nov. 3 election. The referendum includes $700 million for road improvement projects.

“When you consider Harris County has more people than [about] 24 states, a bond of this magnitude really isn’t that big,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. “When you realize the fast growth that’s going on in the county and the necessity to go out and actually do these things in anticipation of further growth, the bond allows us to do that.”

Although specific road projects for Harris County bonds are not typically identified prior to the passage of the bond, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said there a number of road improvements within his precinct that could be funded through bond money, such as improvements to Telge Road and North Eldridge Parkway.

Cagle and Emmett said the bond will have no effect on the county’s property tax rate.

“This number was the right number because it stays within our existing means,” Cagle said. “We do not have to go out and raise taxes in order to pay for this bond. We can pay for it within our internal structure that we currently have in place.”

The recommended bond package included $24 million for parks, but commissioners unanimously approved to increase the number to $60 million, which would be distributed evenly among all four precincts.

The $15 million in the bond proposal that is allocated for Precinct 4 parks could help address the need for recreational space within the region, which has added 200,000 people in the last three years, Cagle said. The funds could also allow officials to construct trails and improve flooding mitigation across the precinct, he said.