Harris County Pct. 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle called for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo to call a special session of Harris County Commissioners Court Friday to discuss—without voting on—what he calls a compromise spending plan.

Cagle made his call and spoke of his plan at a Tuesday news conference in downtown Houston.

Hidalgo had not issued a response by press time.

Cagle said his spending plan would fully fund law enforcement, flood control and healthcare, while saving Harris County taxpayers about $108 million more than the existing plan that has not yet been voted on by commissioners.

Commissioners court has been considering whether to approve a $2.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2023. The budget includes $2.2 billion in total revenue and an $8 million transfer from the county’s fleet fund. It includes a $137 million appropriation for the Harris County Flood Control District. Of that flood control district appropriation, $128 million goes towards operating costs, and $9 million will be transferred into reserves.

The budget includes a Harris County Toll Road Authority appropriation of $558 million. Of this, $424 million transfers to the mobility fund, infrastructure fund and roadway flood resilience trust.

The budget proposed budget calls for a $0.31762 maintenance and operation tax rate for $100 property valuation for 2022. This is a decrease from $0.33500 in 2021. County officials said this about a 5% tax rate decrease.

Cagle said that the county’s Office of Management and Budget proposed a set of rates that generated approximately $257 million above the no new revenue rate.

Commissioners typically adopt the budget in September and the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. But Cagle and Pct. 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, both Republicans, opposed the existing plan and, feeling their views had not been heard or implemented by the court, skipped the last two meetings.

As a result, the court did not have the three commissioners required for a quorum. Hidalgo, Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Pct. 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia are Democrats.

Cagle said Tuesday that court did not need a quorum for adopting a budget, but it did require one for setting a tax rate. He said the rate might be going down, but the revenues would go up because of higher property assessments.

Cagle proposed a rate that he said would generate $149 million in revenue above the no new revenue rate, which he said would save taxpayers about $108 million, yet still fund key priorities. He did not specify a tax rate number.

The no new revenue rate would be implemented if Ramsey and Cagle continue to skip court meetings.

Of that $149 million, Cagle proposed that it be split in four ways:

• $56 million to law enforcement.
• $45 million to the hospital district.
• $24.1 million for flood control.
• $24 million for discretionary funds.

Cagle said the $56 million would go for 200 more full-time law enforcement officers and salary increases for existing officers. He said the additional money for law enforcement would add “boots on the ground.”

Cagle said his proposal would fully fund the Harris County Flood Control District’s request while covering a projected deficit for the Harris County Hospital District.