The agenda for commissioners court is released at 9 a.m. on the Friday before each meeting.
The meeting for Oct. 25 has been split into two parts: the first is at 10 a.m., and the second is at 2 p.m. Both are available to live stream here.
Tax rate vote
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle have skipped the last four meetings of commissioners court, each time preventing the quorum necessary to hold a vote to adopt the county’s tax rates.
During a special meeting of court on Oct. 18, County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia agreed to hold two separate meetings on Oct. 25; the tax rates for the Port of Houston Authority and the county’s general fund will be up for a vote during the first meeting, while the tax rates for the Harris County Flood Control District and Harris Health System will be up for a vote during the second.
At least four of the five commissioners would need to be present at the meetings to hold a vote. If Ramsey or Cagle fail to show, the county will be forced to adopt the no-new-revenue rate, which caps the county’s property tax-generated revenue to the same amount as the previous year.
Letter from the Texas Secretary of State’s office
Both Ramsey and Ellis have requested discussion about the Texas Secretary of State’s office's Oct. 18 letter to the county, which cited “serious breaches” in the management of elections records during the 2020 election and said the office would send inspectors to Harris County during the November election as well as a task force from the office of the attorney general of Texas.
County and city officials sent their own letter Oct. 20 to the U.S. Department of Justice to ask for federal monitors to oversee the state’s monitors.
District attorney funding
Law enforcement officers appeared en masse at the Oct. 11 meeting of commissioners court, as District Attorney Kim Ogg had put an item on the agenda for discussion and possible action to “properly fund” her office and the constables’ offices.
Ogg has put the same item on the agenda for the 2 p.m. meeting on Oct. 25, so it is possible that there will be another large showing of law enforcement in support of Ogg’s item.
Countywide burn ban
Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen has requested the county enact a burn ban in unincorporated areas of Harris County due to drought conditions.
The county had previously enacted a burn ban across unincorporated areas of the county on June 28 and lifted it on Aug. 23. The county can implement a burn ban when the average Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which measures drought conditions on a scale from 0-800, is 575 or greater.
According to backup information from the agenda, the county's average KBDI was 603 on Oct. 17.
