County mulls bond vote for flood projects

Commissioners Court to consider holding special election on anniversary of Harvey

Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday will consider calling a special election for Aug. 25 — the first anniversary of Hurricane Harvey — to ask voters to approve a massive bond referendum for flood control projects.

The amount of the referendum has yet to be determined as the county continues to assess its needs and as other funds, including federal grants, become available. At least three members of Commissioners Court said Friday they envision a measure that could reach $2.5 billion.

Commissioners Court will vote Tuesday on whether to send a letter seeking to hold the special election to Gov. Greg Abbott, who by law would need to give the go-ahead.

“I don’t want to wait too long,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “It makes sense to me. I think it’s something that we should do. Hopefully, the commissioners will agree.”

A spokeswoman for Abbott said in a statement Friday that the “decision to hold a bond election is at the discretion of Harris County. We can’t comment on hypothetical decisions.”

The agenda item marks the first time a specific date has emerged for the highly anticipated bond referendum, which could be the largest ever called by the county and would help finance sweeping improvements to the Houston area’s flood control system.

The referendum could help finance property buyouts, as well as a range of infrastructure projects, such as the widening and deepening of bayous or the construction of a much-discussed third reservoir in northwest Harris County.

Tuesday’s vote follows months of wrangling over the logistics of holding the bond election, including the cost of holding a special election and the ideal date to ensure voters turn out to support the measure.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said he supports presenting the bond referendum to voters during the November general election, when turnout is expected to be considerable as voters weigh in on midterm congressional elections.

“Without evidence of a clear path to victory for a summer-

time bond election, which is likely to have low turnout, I have serious reservations about the proposed August date,” Ellis said. “The future of Harris County hinges on the success of this flood bond.”

It also is not yet clear what the bond referendum will include. Matt Zeve, Harris County Flood Control District director of operations, said that would be determined after Tuesday’s discussion at Commissioners Court.

County officials have said the necessity for bond money grows as federal grants pour into the Houston area to prepare for future floods or to recover from Harvey, many of which require a sometimes hefty financial match from local governments.

“The risk is that they may allocate the funds elsewhere and, thus, become unavailable for our region,” Emmett states in the proposed letter to Abbott.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said Friday he supports the date and a $2.5 billion price tag, but he is open to discussing both Tuesday.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman said he would wait to hear the arguments before deciding whether he would support a summer election.

“I’m all in favor of putting it on when it has the greatest chance of success,” Morman said. “I’m willing to listen to everybody, on court and off, who has an opinion of that.”

The bonds likely would come with a property tax increase for county residents.

County budget officials estimate that for a $1 billion bond referendum, in which $100 million in debt would be issued every year for 10 years, the average residential property owner would see their tax bill go up $5 in the first year and rise to $20 in the 10th year.

Rice University political scientist Bob Stein said special elections typically do not bode well for bond measures, but the Aug. 25 date could work because of the attention to Harvey’s oneyear anniversary, as well as being the beginning of the school year when many families will be around.

He warned, however, that the more time passes since Harvey, the more opposition the measure could face, especially since the majority of Harris County residents did not incur serious flood damage.

“This will be a much closer vote than people realize,” he said.