Shared from the 11/29/2017 Houston Chronicle eEdition

STATE OF THE COUNTY

EMMETT CLASHES WITH STATE LEADERS

County judge takes on Abbott, Patrick over funding, taxes and fight for local control

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Houston Chronicle file photos

Clockwise: Floodwaters from the Addicks Reservoir; an inmate at a Harris County detention facility, freight trains near the Port of Houston; Nesami Castillo, 12, receives a vaccination at a health fair.

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Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett reiterated his call for state leaders to accept increased Medicaid funding from Washington at his state of the county address Tuesday at NRG Center.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday used his annual State of the County speech to blast state leaders that he said attack local governments and seek to cut needed taxes but offer no real solutions to the myriad problems Texas’ large urban counties face.

Before a crowd of hundreds at NRG Center, Emmett called on state officials to invest roughly $500 million in a third reservoir and dam to boost area flood control efforts, fund a beleaguered indigent health care system, and revamp “broken” tax policies that force the county to rely on property taxes to serve an unincorporated area that, on its own, would be the fifth-largest city in the country.

In addition to helping with the county’s flood control efforts, Emmett called on the state to contribute more for mental health care and transportation improvements, citing the need for an Interstate 69 bypass on the east side of the county and renewed emphasis on railroads and technology to move freight from area ports.

He also reiterated his call for state leaders to accept increased Medicaid funding from Washington.

“The next time a state official makes a big deal about a fraction of a cent cut in the property tax rate, ask them why they won’t help Harris County property taxpayers fund indigent health care,” the judge said. “State leaders who are eager to seek for disaster relief should also be willing to accept federal dollars to provide health care for poor people. That would be real property tax relief.”

The state, he said, should treat the county more like a city, which by law can levy a sales tax and pass ordinances. The county is an arm of state government and relies on property taxes for most of its revenue.

“The whole point of today’s speech was to say ‘enough is enough,’” Emmett said afterward. “We need to be able to provide the services and the government that people expect in an unincorporated area.”

‘Clearly not listening’

Emmett’s comments were fueled in part by Hurricane Harvey and a 2017 legislative session in Austin that featured several pitched battles over local control, efforts supported by state leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

One bill — vigorously opposed by local government officials — sought to trigger acountywide referendum if property tax revenues rose more than 4 percent from one year to next, half of the current 8percent threshold. Another sought to trigger a county-wide referendum for capital projects on sporting venues costing more than $10 million, which was aimed at Harris County’s proposed $105 million renovation of the Astrodome, a project championed by Emmett.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, supported both of those bills, and said Tuesday that such efforts this past session were part of a larger push to reduce his constituents’ property tax bills.

“There’s no question the right Republican answer is top-down guidelines that save taxpayers money,” Bettencourt said.

Patrick fired back against Emmett in a statement Tuesday evening, saying the county judge is “clearly not listening to the people” and said that the property tax legislation would make local leaders accountable when their revenues grow.

“I am fighting for property tax reform because I have listened to people all across Texas who are reeling from skyrocketing property taxes while still giving counties and cities local control,” said Patrick who represented part of Harris County.

Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.

Emmett criticized the bills that would have forced the county to get voter approval on taxes and spending.

“Such a populist approach might sound reasonable, but the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who nobody ever accused of being a liberal, described direct referenda as ‘a device for dictators and demagogues’” he said.

He also lit into lawmakers’ attempts to limit property tax collections during the last legislative session, saying leaders “attacked counties and cities and other local governments, all the while offering no real solutions.”

“County government relies almost completely on property tax revenue, but the property tax is widely hated, and wholly inadequate as a means of financing the unique urban government that we have. Unfortunately, narrow-minded politics has pushed unfunded mandates from the state onto county government,” he said.

“It is just pure ugly politics. And, by the way, the portion of county taxes paid by business is, I don’t need to tell the business community in this room, growing. We are reaching the point where tax policies are a drag on economic development.”

Bob Stein, a Rice University political scientist, said leaders at the state level do not have to provide the services that local officials do, so they are not held accountable in the same way. That divide, he said, could splinter the Republican Party, as evidenced by the legislative session and Emmett’s speech.

“It’s really about ideology and tribalism,” Stein said.

Increase international trade

Emmett, 68, who has said he will run for re-election next year, was introduced by Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. The speaker’s own position as a more centrist Republican has made him the target of the far right, which blames him for holding up conservative legislation. Straus earlier this year announced he will not seek re-election to his current post in 2019, after butting heads with Patrick and the state Senate repeatedly during the session.

Straus sang Emmett’s praises Tuesday, saying his leadership has “never been more needed.”

“He believes locally elected leaders are best suited to make local decisions,” Straus said.

Emmett reiterated that, following Harvey, flood control had become his No. 1 issue.

Earlier this year, Emmett proposed 15 measures to improve flood control efforts, including the construction of a third dam and reservoir system in the northwest part of the county, widespread buyouts of flood-prone homes and an effort to push the state to give Harris County the authority to levy a sales tax to pay for costly flood control measures.

A majority of Commissioners Court has indicated it would support a bond referendum, possibly upward of $1 billion, for flood control.

On Tuesday, he also said the county should increase its pursuit of international trade, noting that he had formed an advisory committee and has hired a consultant to work with the Greater Houston Partnership and others to boost the county’s profile.

“As county judge I might not have the power to bring all these proposals to fruition, but I can certainly be the loud voice making sure they are pursued and not forgotten,” Emmett said. mihir.zaveri@chron.com twitter.com/mihirzaveri

“Such a populist approach might sound reasonable, but the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who nobody ever accused of being a liberal, described direct referenda as ‘a device for dictators and demogogues.’ ”
Ed Emmett, county judge

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