Harris County Judge Ed Emmett discussed the budgetary challenges the county faces in 2017 at a governmental affairs meeting in January that was hosted by the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce. He cited the county’s growing population and reliance on property tax as a struggle.

“We’re going to have to find a way for the county to have a different financial bucket to draw from other than the property tax,” he said.

Emmett said as the population grows, so do the county’s expenses in criminal justice and indigent health care, and the expenses are therefore outside the county’s control. The amount the county can spend on areas such as flood control and transportation is limited. The county’s main source of revenue is property tax.

“Transportation is something we will always be playing catch-up with,” Emmett said.