Smaller suburbs caught in funding tussle
Abbott tells state’s 12 largest counties to share CARES cash
The state of Texas and its 12 largest counties are in a tug-of-war over who is responsible for handing out federal coronavirus relief funding for some small cities.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in late March sent $11.24 billion in aid to the state. Of that, six Texas cities and 12 counties with a population more than 500,000 received more than $3.2 billion.
The other 242 counties and cities within those counties were allowed to apply for per capita funding allocations from the state out of the remaining $1.85 billion earmarked for local governments.
With an apparent gray area in the legislation, the CARES Act did not specify which entity — the state or the dozen large counties — should cover the small cities within the dozen counties that received direct funding. State leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott want the counties to pay; the counties want the state to share more of its cut.
The skirmish has meant that months after the major relief pack
age was passed, funding for some Texas cities is in limbo, including for Houston-area suburbs such as Pasadena that have been hit with major outbreaks.
Michel Bechtel, president of the Harris County Mayors and Councils Association and also the mayor of Morgan’s Point, a city of about 1,500 that has not yet recorded any COVID-19 cases, said he and at least
a dozen other mayors agree with the governor.
“It should come from the county,” Bechtel said. “Obviously a lot of the cities have had a lot of additional costs, and it appears that’s what the intent of the legislation (was) . ... They would like to see the money distributed to their cities, so they can take care of their expenses.”
Abbott — as well as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and the state Senate Finance Committee and House Appropriations
committee chairs and vice-chairs — in a May 11 letter placed the responsibility on the counties.
Two days later, the counties wrote to state leadership to ask for their reconsideration. While the counties account for about 69 percent of all COVID-19 cases, they received just about 29 percent of the relief funds, they wrote in a letter shared with Hearst Newspapers.
“We ask you to address this shortfall,” they wrote. “Counties are your frontline partners in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Help us help Texans stay in their homes, keep their jobs, and have food on their table.”
In his letter Friday, Abbott, who declined to comment beyond the letter, did not back down.
“It is our expectation, and we feel certain it is the expectation of county residents who live in cities within your county, that they be treated equally as citizens in the unincorporated areas of the county,” the letter stated.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, sided with state leaders in an op-ed in the Rio Grande Guardian on Thursday in saying that the large counties should step up.