Harris County, Texas

Level	county
Part of	Texas
Seat	Houston
Governing body	Commissioners Court (County Judge and four precinct commissioners)
Fiscal year	October 1 to September 30
Official websites	https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/, https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/, https://www.hctax.net/
Repository	https://github.com/govspends/us-tx-counties-harris

Investigations

Investigation	Status	Headline
Harris County, Texas: FY2027 budget	Revision 2 (Sept. 23, 2026), independently reviewed	General Fund departmental appropriations rose 11.8% to $3.095B; a $181M planning gap was closed with the maximum no-election tax rate, $82.9M of one-time revenue and a $16M surplus drawdown; pay and spending decisions are disclosed but dispersed across separate votes and tables.

Harris County is governed by a five-member Commissioners Court (the County Judge and four precinct commissioners), which adopts the budget and sets the tax rates for the county itself and for three related governments whose rates it also controls: the Harris County Flood Control District, the Port of Houston Authority and the Harris County Hospital District (Harris Health). The Office of Management and Budget prepares the budget books; the County Auditor, appointed by the district judges, certifies available resources and publishes monthly financial reports and the audited annual report; the Tax Assessor-Collector publishes the truth-in-taxation worksheets. The fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30 and is funded by the tax rates set the preceding September.