Harris County Flood Control District to hold public meetings regarding vote on 57% tax rate increase – Houston Public Media

Ahead of the Nov. 5 election to decide whether to raise the Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) property tax rate by 57%, the district is holding several meetings to plead its case to the public.

This November, Harris County residents will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition A. If approved, it would increase the HCFCD Fiscal Year 2025 property tax rate by an additional 1.5 cents per $100 of evaluation. That would be on top of the already approved .2 cents per $100 of evaluation increase over the FY 2024 budget. This would result in an FY 2025 flood control district property tax rate of 4.9 cents.

According to the district, the average homeowner would see an increase of approximately $60. Overall, the Proposition A rate would raise $118,974,926 more than FY 2024.

Of this, $7,697,442 would be raised from new properties added to the tax role, according to Harris County’s proposed budget.

The current property tax rate for FY 2024 is 3.1 cents per $100. If Proposition A fails, the FY 2025 rate will still increase by .2 cents, or 6.8% to 3.3, cents — this is the highest tax rate that the flood control district can adopt without seeking voter approval. However, If Proposition A passes, the FY 2025 rate will increase by 57.7% over the current rate to 4.9 cents.

From now until mid-October, the HCFCD will hold a series of ten public meetings — eight in person and two online — to discuss the district’s ongoing maintenance efforts and the possible impact of the Proposition A rate increase. The first meeting already occurred on Monday, Sept. 30.

The HCFCD is arguing that the increase is needed due to a stagnation in investment over the previous years which has led to decades of deferred maintenance and aging systems, according to the district’s website. The additional funds would go towards maintenance projects, “fast action service” teams, future planning and resilience.

The time and location of the remaining nine meetings are below:

• Wednesday, Oct. 2, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Richard & Meg Weekley Community Center ( 8440 Greenhouse Rd, Cypress, TX 77433
• Thursday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Martin L. Flukinger Community Center (16003 Lorenzo St, Channelview, TX 77530)
• Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  • Acres Homes Multi-Service Center (6719 West Montgomery Road, Houston, TX 77091)
• Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • George H. W. Bush Community Center (6827 Cypresswood Drive, Spring, TX 77379
• Thursday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Bayland Community Center (6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, TX 77074)
• Monday, Oct. 14, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • El Franco Lee Community Center (9500 Hall Road, Houston, TX 77089)
• Wednesday, Oct. 16, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  • Hardy Community Center (11901 West Hardy Road, Houston, TX 77076)

The HCFCD was originally created by the Texas Legislature in 1937 to address and manage flooding in the region. Although the HCFCD is governed by the Harris County Commissioners Court, it is still a special-purpose district, meaning that it is separate from the rest of Harris County when it comes to the tax rate, according to an HCFCD representative.

In September, the commissioners court approved an over 8% increase to the county’s own property tax rate, which is separate from the HCFCD rate.