Harris County Commissioners Wrestle with $100 Million Drainage Funding Shortfall

4/1/25 – In their 3/27/25 meeting, Harris County Commissioners wrestled for more than an hour with a massive, $100 million drainage funding shortfall. But $100 million may not come close to solving drainage problems in the county’s subdivisions.

As a result, Commissioners ordered the Flood Control District and Engineering Department to return to Commissioners Court on May 8, 2025 with detailed lists of projects and their Equity Prioritization Index Scores.

Insiders at the County Courthouse say it would be too politically explosive to cancel any projects promised to voters in the 2018 Flood Bond. So, they are likely to just put projects in more affluent areas on indefinite hold, exposing them to higher flood risk for years.

Another Rambling, Disjointed Debate

Emotions got heated during the hour-long discussion as each commissioner made a case for why projects in his/her precinct should not be cut.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey P.E. talked about the larger percentage of unincorporated Harris County he must support compared to other precincts. He also pointed out that he already used $100 million from his own budget to push through needed subdivision drainage projects.

And Ramsey complained about problems with the equity formula used by Flood Control and Engineering to prioritize projects. Specifically, he mentioned Barrett Station, a low-income area in Precinct 3 that was deprived of funding.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia focused on “historical discrimination,” the County’s Equity Prioritization Index, and the highly populated areas they serve compared to outlying areas.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Leslie Briones literally talked about “getting hosed.” Her precinct received far less funding than others.

The discussion had all the charm of wolves crowding around a campfire, baring their teeth to see who will get the last scraps of meat.

Data Disaster Also At Core of Discussion

A shortage of reliable, consolidated data about subdivision drainage projects has frustrated commissioners as they seek to debate the priority of projects.

One of the motions considered during the debate on Item 28 last Thursday was integrating the county’s various financial systems. Currently, data about these projects exists on at least three different software platforms according to another county insider.

Subdivision Drainage Projects a Political Football

Voters approved a group of subdivision drainage projects totaling a little more than $425 million as part of the 2018 Flood Bond. Out of that total, the county designated $111 million in local matching funds to attract $315 million in partner funding from local municipalities.

However, over time the Subdivision Drainage Improvement costs escalated to an estimated $832 million due to inflation and the addition of projects. At the same time, not all the partnership funds materialized as expected.

So the county created a Flood Resilience Trust with surplus Harris County Toll Road (HCTRA) funds. The County also reallocated some funds from the 2015 Road Bond.

Because using Road Bond and HCTRA funding required link to transportation, at some point, Commissioners moved subdivision drainage projects from Flood Control to Engineering.

But now, some of the projects are moving back to Flood Control, because Flood Control may be able to cancel some of its projects, freeing up some money on that side of the fence. Can you say “Shell Game”?

The County Administrator’s Office compiled this 11-page outline showing how projects were moved, added, deleted or had their funding sources change over time and why. Reading it will also help you understand why Commissioners are demanding to know how much money they have to work with.

No commissioner wants to find a pet project at the end of the line when the money runs out.

Motions Approved

After an hour of discussion, Commissioners voted on and approved four motions designed to give them greater insight into where each of the subdivision drainage projects stands. In summary, the motions direct:

1. All relevant departments to fill the previously identified funding gap of approximately $99 million for Subdivision Drainage projects out of a group of 57 projects (identified in 2023) with a Prioritization Framework rating of 7.4 or higher using:
   • $50,000,000 from the Flood Control District of 2018 Flood Bond Program funds originally allocated as matching funds for the home buyout program that are no longer needed;
   • $30,000,000 from the Flood Control District of 2018 Flood Bond Program funds originally allocated for major maintenance projects that have alternative funding sources identified;
   • $19,000,000 from interest earned on METRO fund cash balance; and
   • $14,200,000 of Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) grant funds for projects that meet the eligible use requirements.
2. The County Administrator to work with all relevant departments to develop any longer-term options and recommendations that may be needed regarding the funding and management of the 2018 Flood Bond Program and the Subdivision Drainage Program. Target date: May 8, 2025.
3. All relevant departments to develop a standard reporting framework for the Subdivision Drainage Program and the 2018 Flood Bond Program to ensure Commissioners Court can easily see at a minimum:
   • Status of each project
   • Expected time to completion
   • How cost has changed over time
   • Whether there was a change in scope
   • Sources of funding
4. The County Administrator and Universal Services to improve the county’s electronic financial reporting by consolidating several software systems into one.

For More Information

For more information about Item 28 on the March 27, 2025 Commissioners Court Agenda, you can view the video. Click on Departments 2 or 2 and scroll forward to approximately 6:01 of the video. The discussion lasts an hour. The clock superimposed over the frame (as opposed to the scroll bar), will read 6:31 PM.

Here is an AI-based transcript of the discussion from a private service that I subscribe to. Warning: it has 98% accuracy, higher than county’s transcript which sometimes omits whole sections of the dialog. If something sounds off, check it against the video.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/1/25

2772 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The post Harris County Commissioners Wrestle with $100 Million Drainage Funding Shortfall appeared first on Reduce Flooding.