Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo escalated tensions at Commissioners Court on Thursday, branding two of her fellow Democrats and the lone Republican on the court as the “GOP Three” during a dispute over how to address the county’s budget deficit.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the remark came during a news conference where Hidalgo accused Commissioners Adrian Garcia, Lesley Briones, and Tom Ramsey of putting politics ahead of sound fiscal policy. She argued that their recent decisions, particularly approving large raises for law enforcement in May, had contributed to a $200 million shortfall.
“I’d like to propose a budget cut for the three county commissioners that have approved $200 million worth of expenses and law enforcement raises we could not afford,” Hidalgo said. “Commissioners Garcia, Ramsey and Briones — I call them the GOP three. What are you willing to sacrifice from your $90.3 million budget or precinct to cover the $200 million deficit?”
Hidalgo later introduced a motion to reduce the commissioners’ budgets, but it failed to get a second and did not move forward.
Ramsey told Chron, while Hidalgo continued to tout calls not to politicize the budget throughout Thursday, she turned around to do exactly what she told commissioners not to do.
The exchange marks the latest turn in an ongoing public disagreement over how to close what was initially projected as a $270 million budget gap. Garcia and Briones have championed a cost-saving plan they say will protect “core services,” while Hidalgo, backed to a lesser extent by Commissioner Rodney Ellis, has criticized the approach as cutting social programs to fund law enforcement.
Budget director Daniel Ramos told reporters Wednesday that updated revenue projections, lower-than-expected costs for law enforcement pay parity, and other savings had significantly reduced the gap.
While Ramos said widespread layoffs were unlikely, some positions could be cut. Leah Barton, interim director of Harris County Public Health, warned that proposed reductions to her department, about $4 million, could scale back mosquito control, cancel the Violence Prevention Conference, and limit emergency preparedness activities.
The budget proposal discussed Thursday was preliminary. Commissioners will continue debating potential changes before the spending plan is finalized in mid- to late-September.
