Newsroom

Harris County, TX, August 14, 2025, Judge Hidalgo called for the majority of commissioners – who approved $200M worth of expenses and law enforcement raises that the county could not afford – to help reduce the county’s deficit by making cuts to their own precinct budgets, rather than with cuts to critical county departments and services. 

Unless the commissioners offset the cost of the law enforcement raises out of their own budgets, vital services could be cut. Representatives from Harris Health, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the County Engineer spoke about how the proposed budget cuts would affect their services and programs they provide to Harris County residents. 

Click here to hear from:

• Chandler Raine, First Assistant, Harris County District Attorney
• Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, Harris Health
• Dr. Milton Rahman, Harris County Engineer

Judge Hidalgo voted in favor of austerity and fiscal responsibility at today’s Court, supporting only the proposed budget cuts that would help balance the budget without having a significant impact on services and vulnerable communities. 

Judge Hidalgo voted against items to increase pay for elected constables because she doesn’t think that pay raises for law enforcement should come at the cost of services to county residents. Commissioners Court passed the pay raises for elected constables on a 3-2 vote, with Judge Hidalgo and Commissioner Ellis voting against the item.

Commissioners voted on a number of proposed budget cuts and offsets at today’s Court. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will present another draft of the county budget at the September 9th Commissioners Court. Commissioners will vote on budget final budget amendments and adopt the final budget formally at the September 18th Commissioners Court. 

###