Bond initiatives add more debt to county

If everything’s bigger in Texas, then everything’s a whole lot bigger in Harris County.

Home to nearly 4.3 million Texans, Harris County is the most populous county in the state and boasts the city of Houston — the nation’s fourth-largest — along with the Houston Ship Channel and NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Harris County isn’t just home to big cities and impressive infrastructure, though. It’s also home to lots and lots of government debt.

As cited by TelltheTruthTexas.org, the Texas comptroller estimates Harris County’s total debt outstanding at $4.6 billion, or more than $1,000 per capita. That figure includes $2.6 billion in tax-supported debt and $2 billion in revenue-supported debt, and easily earns the county the top spot as most indebted in Texas.

But not only is Harris County the most indebted county in the state, its total debt is also greater than all the debt held by the next 9 most populous counties — combined.

It’s fair to say that Harris County is addicted to debt, which makes unsurprising news that the county is set to ask voters once again to approve several hundred million dollars in additional bond issuances in the upcoming election.

Come Nov. 5, Harris County will put before voters two major bond proposals totaling almost $300 million dollars. The first is a $217 million bond that would fund an overhaul of the Astrodome while the second is a $70 million bond to build a new city-county jail processing center. The former would require a property tax increase while the latter would not.

If both measures are approved, the county’s total outstanding debt could swell to near $5 billion. But just what are the consequences of such a heavy debt addiction? Higher property taxes are usually required.

To meet its growing debt service obligations, Harris County has had to ratchet up its property tax burden significantly over the years. According to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group Tax Foundation, Texas’ relatively high per capita property tax burden is $1,562, ranking Texas as the state with the 14th-most punitive property tax system in the nation. But Harris County’s per capita property tax burden is higher still, totaling an estimated $1,779 per person.

Beyond higher taxes, too much debt can also lead to: more and higher fees, slower economic growth and a crowdingout of other priorities in the budget.

None of this is to say that there isn’t merit or value in revamping the Astrodome or building a jail processing center. There may well be. But is now the right time? As the First Law of Holes dictates: “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

To be fair, Harris County isn’t alone in its addiction to debt. In fact, it’s a growing epidemic in Texas, becoming more commonplace among all of our local governments, from cities to counties to school districts to special districts. Across the state, local governments are increasing debt levels at a worrisome clip.

Compared to the top 10 most populous states in the nation, Texas’ local debt per capita ranks as the second-highest, behind only New York. In other words, our local governments are more heavily indebted than their counterparts in bigspending states like California, Illinois and Florida.

So how do we, as fiscally responsible Texans, begin to address this growing issue?

To start, Texans need information. More times than not, voters are presented with bond initiatives without basic financial information, such as how much debt already exists, what impact approval of a bond would have on your taxes, or per person debt levels. If taxpayers were armed with this information, the public could make more informed and intelligent decisions about the direction of their local community.

Next, it’s critical that the maximum number of voters be given an opportunity to have their voices heard on pressing issues, like issuing debt. To that end, the next Legislature should consider enacting a requirement that bond elections be held in November rather than May when turnout is typically lower.

With just some minor education and engagement efforts, Texans, including those in Harris County, can begin addressing one of the greatest challenges facing future taxpayers — a mountain of local government debt. Quintero is director of the Center for Local Governance with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit, free-market research institute based in Austin.