Fort Bend County recently surpassed 859,000 people, and Judge KP George predicted at the March 11 State of the Counties event that the trend will continue.

“We will be at one million people in the next couple of years,” George said.

With new growth, comes new challenges, George said.

He discussed Fort Bend County’s role in the pandemic as the location of the first verified coronavirus case in the state and the obstacles he faced the second year of his term


“I am a better man today than I was before 2020,” George said.



He also discussed the pandemic-related topics, such as the county’s $45 million contribution to rental and mortgage assistance and $53 million toward small businesses.

As for the future, George discussed the creation of the county’s new emergency operations center, a facility that could have been used when Winter Storm Uri that ravaged the area in February. His house is still needing repairs from the event, he said.

The two-story building will be about 24,000 square feet and will consolidate offices and communications spaces to best accommodate the county’s response to weather, fire and other emergencies, according to county documents.

George's presentation was the final of three at the event, which also included Waller and Harris county officials.