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Sources and references — Harris County FY2027 budget investigation

All documents were retrieved on 2026-09-21 unless noted. Local copies are under sources/; extracted text under data/text/.

Public edition note. This repository republishes the government documents (public records) in full. The full-page copies of news articles and of the Baker Institute page that the private working archive holds (sections B, C and the news rows of C2-C5, sources/news/ and sources/analysis/) are not included here for copyright reasons; the "Local copy" names identify the private files. Each row's URL is the citation, and the facts taken from each article are in notes/news_extracts_part1.md and notes/news_extracts_part2.md. "Used for" tells you which findings rest on each document. Page numbers cited in the report refer to the printed page numbers in the county documents.

A. Primary sources: Harris County (official)

A1. Office of Management and Budget — budget books (budget.harriscountytx.gov/budget.aspx)

# Document URL Local file Used for
1 FY2027 Proposed Budget, Volume I, version 3 as of 9/17/2026 (adoption day; 531 pp.; still titled "Proposed"; PDF pp. 141-453 = Auditor's FY27 Final Estimate of Available Resources dated 9/17/2026; pp. 454-473 = FY26 salary plans (general, management, judicial, appointed); pp. 474-477 = Elected Officials Salary Data; pp. 478-489 = FY26 law-enforcement step plans and allowances; pp. 490-522 = NEW Harris County Salary Plan; pp. 523-531 = NEW law-enforcement step plan) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2027/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v3_09172026.pdf sources/official/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v3_09172026.pdf Core FY27 figures: change list (pp. 2-4), tax-revenue notice (p. 11), tax-rate history (p. 14), CLS/S deficit (p. 15), healthcare/pension/jail/indigent defense/contract patrol (pp. 16-23), budget plan (p. 27), revenue incl. one-time items (pp. 40-44), debt (pp. 47-56), department overviews (pp. 61-63, 74), Dept. 202 detail (pp. 75-76), Appendix A department budgets (pp. 103-105), Appendix D elected salaries (p. 124), Appendix E benefit rates (p. 125)
2 FY2027 Proposed Budget, Volume I, version 2 (9/2/2026, change list "as of 9/8/2026") https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2027/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v2_09022026.pdf sources/official/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v2_09022026.pdf Version-2 change list (healthcare premium savings removed, appointed-official parity, debt buy-down)
3 FY2027 Proposed Budget, Volume I, version 1 (8/17/2026, original proposal) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2027/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v1_08172026.pdf sources/official/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v1_08172026.pdf Baseline proposal for version comparison
4 FY2027 Proposed Budget, Volume II — Department Detail, v2 (1,212 pp.) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2027/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_II_v2.pdf sources/official/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_II_v2.pdf Per-department "Change Table" items (year-2 pay parity, pay-equity, group health, contract patrol, vacancies) and "Positions by Department" tables; parsed into data/vol2_*.csv
5 FY27 Budget and Tax Rate Information (Tax Code §26.18 posting) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2027/FY27_Budget_and_Tax_Rate_Information.pdf sources/official/FY27_Budget_and_Tax_Rate_Information.pdf FEAR-based budget totals ($3,114.5M → $3,351.4M), M&O and debt property-tax revenue FY25-FY27, adopted/proposed rates and their M&O/debt split
6 FY2026 Adopted Budget, Volume I https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2026/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I_v1.pdf sources/official/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I_v1.pdf FY26 CLS/deficit (p. 16), FY26 revenue (p. 36), Commissioners Court rollover table (p. 69), Appendix A FY23-FY26 (pp. 95-98), budget recommendation (p. 52)
7 FY2026 Adopted Budget, Volume II — Department Detail https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2026/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_II.pdf sources/official/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_II.pdf Reference (FY26 department detail)
8 FY2026 Adopted Budget, Volume I workbook (Excel) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2026/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I_0406.xlsx sources/official/FY26_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I_0406.xlsx Reference
9 FY2025 Adopted Budget, Volume I (PDF and Excel) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2025/FY25_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I.pdf ; …/FY25_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I.xlsx sources/official/FY25_Adopted_Budget_Volume_I.pdf, .xlsx Reference (prior-year comparison)
10 FY2024 Adopted Budgets workbook (Excel) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/doc/Budget/budgetbook/FY2024/FY2024_Harris_County_Adopted_Budgets_v1.xlsx sources/official/FY2024_Harris_County_Adopted_Budgets_v1.xlsx Reference
11 OMB "Budget Documents" web page (catalogue of all posted budget files; Power BI open-budget link) https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/budget.aspx sources/official/budget_documents_page_2026-09-21.html Inventory of what the county publishes
12 OMB "Open Budget" page https://budget.harriscountytx.gov/openbudget.aspx (dashboard: https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiMGU0NGRkNTEtNjg0OS00YzIyLWJhMDYtMGY1OGYwZmE2ODhlIiwidCI6IjBkOWJjNzljLTU4MWItNDQ3Ny1hY2Y3LThkNzBkZDNlNTU1YSJ9) sources/official/openbudget_page_2026-09-21.html Transparency assessment
13 FY27 Budget Town Hall presentation (OMB, "Updated 6/1/2026", 12 slides) — mirrored by ReduceFlooding.com from the county's town-hall materials https://reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FY27_Budget_Town_Hall_PPT.pdf sources/official/mirrored_by_reduceflooding/FY27_Budget_Town_Hall_PPT.pdf FY26 tax-rate history chart, FY26 revenue mix, FY27 CLS/S by budget area, CLS/S increase breakdown ($79M LE, $41M inflation, $38M health, $32M statutory, $24M pay equity, $20M new), $129M/$257M deficit chart
14 Commissioners Court agenda, Special Meeting of Aug. 17, 2026 (mirrored by ReduceFlooding.com) https://reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/26.08.16-HCC-Agenda.pdf sources/official/mirrored_by_reduceflooding/26.08.16-HCC-Agenda.pdf Agenda items: FY27 budgets and tax rates (item 2), health-benefit rates and plan design (item 4), salary grievance committee (items 1, 7)
15 Harris County Five-Year Financial Plan & Opportunities — Summary of Opportunities (BCG for OMB, June 4, 2024; 55 pp.) — linked from the Baker Institute report https://files.constantcontact.com/9b0ba6dd101/3230425d-5c71-4ed2-9fb4-3122dc838e95.pdf sources/official/Harris_County_Five_Year_Financial_Plan_and_Opportunities_2024-06-04.pdf Structural-deficit scenarios (glidepath −$580M FY29 balance; pessimistic −$800M), 6-7% expense growth vs 4.5-5% revenue, FY24 $39M and FY25 $129M gaps

A2. Harris County Auditor (auditor.harriscountytx.gov)

# Document URL Local file Used for
16 Monthly Financial Report, June 30, 2026 (unaudited; issued 9/17/2026) https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/MonthlyFinancial/June%202026%20Monthly.pdf sources/official/auditor/June%202026%20Monthly.pdf FY26 nine-month actuals by category and by department (pp. ii-v, 58-61), FY26 full-year cash-flow projection ($2,772.2M spending, $2,754.7M revenue), working-capital note (p. 61), cash and fund balance
17 Monthly Financial Report, March 31, 2026 https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/MonthlyFinancial/March%202026%20Monthly.pdf sources/official/auditor/March%202026%20Monthly.pdf Reference (mid-year check)
18 Monthly Financial Report, September 30, 2025 (FY25 year-end, unaudited) https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/MonthlyFinancial/September%202025%20Monthly.pdf sources/official/auditor/September%202025%20Monthly.pdf FY25 actual revenues ($2,687.4M) and expenditures ($2,633.3M) by category; FY25 by-department budget status (parsed to data/fy25_gf_budget_status_sept2025.csv)
19 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, FY ended Sept. 30, 2025 (audited; issued April 2026) https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/ACFRs/HC%20Final%209-30-25.pdf sources/official/auditor/HC%20Final%209-30-25.pdf General Fund budget-to-actual schedule (p. 106), property-tax levies Table 10 (p. 248), FTE employees Table 19 (p. 257)
20 Final Estimate of Available Resources (FEAR), FY2026 (9/18/2025) https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/AnnualFundsRevenues/Final%20FEAR%20FY2026.pdf sources/official/auditor/Final%20FEAR%20FY2026.pdf FY26 available resources $3,114.5M = beginning cash $383.6M + revenue $2,730.8M; FY25 estimated actuals
21 Final Estimate of Available Resources, FY2025 https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Portals/auditor/documents/AnnualFundsRevenues/Final%20FEAR%20FY2025.pdf sources/official/auditor/Final%20FEAR%20FY2025.pdf Reference
22 Auditor web pages listing monthly statements, ACFRs and FEARs https://auditor.harriscountytx.gov/Reports/Monthly-Financial-Statements ; …/Annual-Comprehensive-Financial-Report-Harris-County ; …/Annual-Estimate-of-Available-Resources sources/official/auditor_*_page_2026-09-21.html Inventory. Note: the FY2027 FEAR was not posted as a separate file on 2026-09-21 (the URL pattern returned 404); the Auditor's FY27 FEAR dated 9/17/2026 is bound into Vol. I v3 (item 1), PDF pp. 141-453, and was used from there

A3. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector (hctax.net)

# Document URL Local file Used for
23 2026 Tax Rate Calculation Worksheet, Form 50-856 — Harris County https://www.hctax.net/Property/JurDocs/Jur040_2026.pdf sources/official/tax_office/Jur040_2026.pdf NNR 0.38667; voter-approval 0.41750 (= adopted); de minimis 0.40527; taxable value $671.6B; new property $13.0B; debt $377.4M
24 2026 worksheet — Harris County Flood Control District https://www.hctax.net/Property/JurDocs/Jur041_2026.pdf sources/official/tax_office/Jur041_2026.pdf NNR 0.04955; VAR 0.05266 (= adopted)
25 2026 worksheet — Port of Houston Authority https://www.hctax.net/Property/JurDocs/Jur042_2026.pdf sources/official/tax_office/Jur042_2026.pdf NNR 0.00592; VAR 0.00603 (= adopted)
26 2026 worksheet — Harris County Hospital District (Harris Health) https://www.hctax.net/Property/JurDocs/Jur043_2026.pdf sources/official/tax_office/Jur043_2026.pdf NNR 0.18692; VAR 0.23917; adopted 0.19528 (below max); indigent-care adjustment $943.8M
27 Tax Office "Jurisdiction Tax Rates" and "Resources" pages https://www.hctax.net/Property/JurisdictionTaxRates ; https://www.hctax.net/Property/Resources sources/official/tax_office/*.html Locating the worksheets

A parsed summary of items 23-26 is in data/tax_rate_worksheets_2026_summary.txt.

B. Independent analysis

# Document URL Local file Used for
28 Baker Institute (Rice University), "Harris County Faces Growing Budgetary Headwinds," Bill King, Joyce Beebe, John W. Diamond, Randall Rice; July 9, 2026 https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/harris-county-faces-growing-budgetary-headwinds (DOI 10.25613/RK85-RN65) sources/analysis/baker_institute_headwinds_page.html; text in notes/baker_institute_headwinds_text.md Working capital ($345M unallocated FY26; $89M Court rollover; $568M cumulative), FTE growth (+2,000 in FY24-FY25), levy +30% FY23-FY25, $78M jail-medical shift, ARPA $915M, HCTRA transfers, transparency recommendations. (Site blocks automated readers; page saved via direct HTTP fetch.)

C. News coverage and commentary (chronological)

Local copies are in sources/news/ where the site allowed retrieval; status noted. Key facts extracted are in notes/news_extracts_part1.md and notes/news_extracts_part2.md.

Date Outlet Title URL Local copy Used for
2025-05-22 Fox 26 Houston Commissioners vote 3-2 to approve pay parity to all Harris County law enforcement https://www.fox26houston.com/news/harris-county-commissioners-vote-3-2-approve-pay-parity-all-harris-county-law-enforcement fox26_2025-05-22_pay_parity_vote.html Parity vote, $142M year-1, HPD raise schedule
2025-05-23 Houston Public Media Harris County faces $270 million budget deficit following approval of deputy pay increase https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2025/05/23/522075/… hpm_2025-05-23_270M_deficit_deputy_pay.html Vote without funding source; deputy starting pay $57K→$75K
2025-05 My Neighborhood News Harris County approves law enforcement pay raises amid $130M deficit https://myneighborhoodnews.com/harris-county-approves-law-enforcement-pay-raises-amid-130m-budget-deficit-responding-to-houstons-new-hpd-contract myneighborhoodnews_2025-05_pay_parity_130M.html Five-year cost >$1B; HPD contract detail
2025-09-24 KPRC 2 (click2houston) Harris County finalizes salary parity for law enforcement officers https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/09/24/harris-county-finalizes-salary-parity-for-law-enforcement-officers/ click2houston_2025-09-24_salary_parity.html FY26 adoption context
2025-09 Texas Scorecard Harris County Commissioners pass $2.7 billion budget featuring hiring freeze, cuts & tax hike https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-commissioners-pass-2-7-billion-budget-featuring-hiring-freeze-cuts-tax-hike/ texasscorecard_2025-09_fy26_budget.html FY26 vote (3-2), constable pay FY24-FY26, cuts
2025 (late) The Texan Harris County adopts pay equity initiative adding $73 million in yearly costs https://thetexan.news/issues/texas-taxes-spending/harris-county-adopts-pay-equity-initiative-adding-73-million-in-yearly-costs/article_2a3f3f9c-bb82-4d2e-b430-7992271af907.html thetexan_pay_equity_73M.html Pay-equity vote, cost, study details
2026-05-14 Community Impact Early Harris County budget projections show $257M shortfall possibility for FY 2026-27 https://communityimpact.com/houston/spring-klein/government/2026/05/14/early-harris-county-budget-projections-show-257m-shortfall-possibility-for-fy-2026-27/ communityimpact_2026-05-14_257M_projection.html OMB May forecast drivers ($73M LE incl. $42M parity + $31M vacancies; $69M restorations; $38M health; $30M pay equity)
2026-07-13 ABC13 New report shows Harris County faces financial struggles ahead of budget discussion https://abc13.com/post/new-report-shows-harris-county-faces-financial-struggles-ahead-budget-discussion/19501751/ abc13_2026-07-13_baker_report.html Baker report coverage
2026-07-14 Texas Scorecard Harris County departments brace for cuts amid nine-figure budget deficit https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-departments-brace-for-cuts-amid-nine-figure-budget-deficit/ texasscorecard_2026-07-14_brace_for_cuts.html $129M/$287M gap; $292M/yr parity by 2030
2026-07-15 ABC13 (also Yahoo) Harris County could face increased fees, and program cuts to close its $129M deficit https://abc13.com/post/harris-county-could-face-increased-fees-program-cuts-close-129m-deficit/19515767/ abc13_2026-07-15_fees_cuts_129M.html Headcount +2,020 (2023-25); Ramos quotes; $550M non-statutory
2026-07 The Texan New analysis finds Harris County's 'structural deficit' of $129 million likely to worsen over time https://thetexan.news/…/new-analysis-finds-harris-countys-structural-deficit-of-129-million-likely-to-worsen-over-time/article_1b45bd32-41c1-4307-87c9-2772667fc20c.html thetexan_2026-07_baker_structural_deficit.html Baker figures (CLS +10.3%; ARPA $192M/16 programs)
2026-08-07 Houston Public Media Harris County constables will make $305,000 next year, a 129% increase since 2024 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2026/08/07/558886/harris-county-constables-pay-raises/ hpm_constables_305k.html Aug. 6 raises, votes, 46% of FY26 GF to law enforcement
2026-08-07 Community Impact Facing $178M shortfall, Harris County approves raises, funding for independent ICE investigation https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/facing-178m-shortfall-harris-county-approves-raises-funding-for-independent-ice-investigation/ communityimpact_2026-08-07_raises_ice.html Raises list; Ellis "structural deficit" quote
2026-08-08 ABC13 Some elected officials getting big raises as Harris County faces possible property tax hike https://abc13.com/post/elected-officials-getting-big-raises-harris-county-faces-possible-property-tax-hike/19643507/ abc13_2026-08-08_elected_raises.html Which officials accepted; "out of existing budgets"
2026-08 Community Impact PREVIEW: Harris County commissioners to discuss 2026-27 budget, tax rates https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/preview-harris-county-commissioners-to-discuss-2026-27-budget-tax-rates/ communityimpact_2026-08_preview_aug17.html Aug. 17 meeting preview
2026-08-16 ReduceFlooding.com Special meeting Monday to discuss Harris County budget, tax increase https://reduceflooding.com/2026/08/16/special-meeting-monday-to-discuss-harris-county-budget-tax-increase/ reduceflooding_2026-08-16_special_meeting.html Links to agenda and OMB slides
2026-08-17 ReduceFlooding.com Harris County considers $327 million 2027 budget increase https://reduceflooding.com/2026/08/17/harris-county-considers-327-million-2027-budget-increase/ reduceflooding_2026-08-17_327M.html $287M of $327M "already committed"; composition
2026-08 Community Impact Harris County releases proposed budget amid financial pressures, $181M shortfall https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/harris-county-releases-proposed-budget-amid-financial-pressures-181m-shortfall/ communityimpact_2026-08_proposed_budget_181M.html OMB Aug. 17 driver list ($89M health, $76M parity, $61M CLS, $31M vacancies, $30M pay equity, $30M TIRZ/mandates)
2026-08-18 KPRC 2 Harris County budget shortfall — what it means for county services, your wallet https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/08/18/harris-county-budget-shortfall-what-it-means-for-county-services-your-wallet/ click2houston_2026-08-18_shortfall_what_it_means.html Hidalgo "$300M in pay increases committed without a vote"
2026-08-20 KPRC 2 Harris County Treasurer could get 30% raise as county weighs eliminating her office https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/08/20/harris-county-treasurer-could-get-30-raise-as-county-weighs-eliminating-her-office/ click2houston_2026-08-20_treasurer.html FY26 salaries of elected officials ($179,421; $217,485)
2026-08-21 Texas Scorecard Harris County Treasurer denied $305K salary, instead gets 30% raise https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-treasurer-denied-305k-salary-instead-gets-30-raise-as-office-faces-abolishment/ texasscorecard_2026-08-21_treasurer.html Grievance committee
2026-08-28 Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Harris County plans nearly 12 percent spending increase https://texastaxpayers.com/harris-county-plans-nearly-12-percent-spending-increase/ texastaxpayers_2026-08-28_12pct.html July-estimate NNR 0.38667 / VAR 0.41934; homestead $1,202→$1,350
2026-08 Community Impact Harris Health seeks tax rate increase amid inflation, more underfunded patients https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/harris-health-seeks-tax-rate-increase-amid-inflation-more-underfunded-patients/ communityimpact_harris_health_rate.html Harris Health rate rationale
2026-09 Lina Hidalgo (Substack) What People Need to Know: Harris County Budget & Tax Rate Season https://linahidalgotx.substack.com/p/the-harris-county-budget-tax-rates hidalgo_substack_budget_tax_season.html $189M; unfunded commitments $118M/$179M/$285.8M; disaster exception not used
2026-09-04 Houston Public Media Harris County commissioners will consider a 7.6% property tax increase. What to know https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2026/09/04/561026/harris-county-property-tax-increase-consideration/ hpm_2026-09-04_what_to_know.html Fifth consecutive year; property sales and fee increases
2026-09-04/08 Community Impact PREVIEW: commissioners to talk 2026-27 budget amendments, tax rates https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/preview-harris-county-commissioners-to-talk-2026-27-budget-amendments-tax-rates/ communityimpact_2026-09-04_preview_amendments.html Ellis $4.5M; treasurer; SB 2 reference
2026-09-08 Fox 26 Houston Harris County commissioners discuss proposed budget, property tax increase https://www.fox26houston.com/news/harris-county-commissioners-proposed-fy27-budget-property-tax-increase fox26_2026-09-08_proposed_budget.html $51M healthcare update ($129M→$181M); median homestead $891→$977
2026-09-08 Community Impact Harris County commissioners approve 7.6% property tax rate increase for consideration https://communityimpact.com/spring-klein/government/harris-county-commissioners-approve-7-6-property-tax-rate-increase-for-consideration/ communityimpact_2026-09-08_approve_rate_for_consideration.html Sept. 8 vote; $45M one-time; Harris Health $20M
2026-09-09 Houston Public Media Harris County commissioners advance 7.6% property tax hike in 2027 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2026/09/09/561336/harris-county-commissioners-advance-7-6-property-tax-hike-in-2027/ hpm_2026-09-09_advance_hike.html 140+ speakers; Harris Center $20 wage; treasurer denied
2026-09-09 The Texan Harris County Commissioners propose maximum tax rate hike https://thetexan.news/…/harris-county-commissioners-propose-maximum-tax-rate-hike/article_0fee7e6f-197d-402a-975e-9481262e17fd.html thetexan_2026-09-09_max_rate_hike.html Rate table; shortfall funding list ($25M interest, $25M property, $23M HCTRA, $76M savings, $16M surplus)
2026-09-09 Houston Chronicle (via Yahoo syndication) Divided Harris County Commissioners Court approves highest property tax rate in modern history https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/divided-harris-county-commissioners-court-000501937.html yahoo_chronicle_2026-09-09_divided_court.html $191M deputy raises; $577M healthcare; $126M indigent defense; $76M contract patrol; $102M health reserves used
2026-09-09 Texas Scorecard Harris County moves to hike tax rate https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-moves-to-hike-tax-rate/ texasscorecard_2026-09-09_hike_tax_rate.html $292M/yr by 2030; contract patrol 30%→50% subsidy
2026-09-09 KTRH More revenue? Harris County spending is the real problem https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/houston-texas-news/content/2026-09-08-more-revenue-harris-county-spending-is-the-real-problem/ ktrh_2026-09-09_spending_problem.html Employee premium proposal voted down (King)
2026-09 ABC13 Harris County spends $1.2M daily on healthcare for employees, retirees https://abc13.com/post/harris-county-spends-12m-daily-free-employee-healthcare/19781096/ abc13_healthcare_1_2M_daily.html Premium comparison; health fund shortfalls; staffing growth
2026-09-14 Community Impact Harris County commissioners expected to approve 2026-27 tax rates, budget https://communityimpact.com/bay-area/government/harris-county-commissioners-expected-to-approve-2026-27-tax-rates-budget/ communityimpact_2026-09-14_expected_to_approve.html Agenda for Sept. 17
2026-09-15 Spectrum News Harris County advances largest property tax hike in recent history https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/09/15/harris-county-advances-largest-property-tax-hike-in-recent-history spectrum_2026-09-15_largest_hike.html Quotes; ~$195M LE addition
2026-09-15 KPRC 2 Harris County property taxes rising again: what it could mean for homeowners https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/09/15/harris-county-property-taxes-rising-again-what-it-could-mean-for-homeowners/ click2houston_2026-09-15_rising_again.html Mark Jones and Bill King analysis
2026-09-17 Houston Public Media Harris County commissioners approve historic $3.1 billion budget, finalize tax hike https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2026/09/17/562090/… hpm_2026-09-17_approve_budget.html Final votes; $193 homestead impact; $89M healthcare
2026-09-17 Community Impact Harris County approves 2026-27 budget, tax rates https://communityimpact.com/bay-area/government/harris-county-approves-2026-27-budget-tax-rates/ communityimpact_2026-09-17_approves_budget_tax_rates.html Adopted rates all entities; $243M cuts alternative
2026-09-17 KPRC 2 Harris County approves largest property tax hike in county history https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/09/17/harris-county-commissioners-to-vote-on-largest-property-tax-hike-in-county-history/ click2houston_2026-09-17_largest_hike.html Votes; constables guaranteed $305K through 2032
2026-09-17 Fox 26 (via Yahoo) Harris County commissioners pass property tax rate increase, approve $3 billion budget https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/harris-county-commissioners-pass-property-135631879.html yahoo_fox26_2026-09-17_pass_rate.html Final votes
2026-09-17 Houston Chronicle (via Yahoo) Harris County commissioners vote to approve historic tax increase to bridge $180M deficit https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/harris-county-commissioners-vote-approve-214530526.html yahoo_chronicle_2026-09-17_historic_increase.html $72M new LE spending; fifth straight shortfall; quotes
2026-09-18 KPRC 2 Harris County had $15 million left to allocate in early September. Here's where commissioners decided to spend it https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/09/18/harris-county-had-dollar15-million-left-to-allocate-in-early-september-heres-where-commissioners-decided-to-spend-it/ click2houston_2026-09-18_15M_allocations.html Itemized Sept. 8/17 additions
2026-09-18 Houston Style Magazine (county release) Harris County Commissioners Court approves FY27 budget https://stylemagazine.com/news/2026/sep/18/harris-county-commissioners-court-approves-fy27-budget/ stylemagazine_2026-09-18_press_release.html County's own framing ($3.095B, $181M, no premium change)
2026-08-11 Rev. Mark Brown (Substack) What is happening in Harris County? https://revdrbrown.substack.com/p/what-is-happening-in-harris-county revdrbrown_substack.html Commentary (deputy pay $57K→$77.8K)

Not retrievable (blocked automated access): Houston Chronicle originals — "Harris County leaders approve highest tax rate in modern history. Here's why." (…/harris-county-tax-rate-2026-22407833.php), "Harris County commissioners approve historic tax hike to bridge $180M deficit" (…22407837.php), "Harris County projects multi-million dollar deficit for fifth consecutive year" (…22257465.php), "Court-appointed lawyers earn millions in Harris County as costs soar" (…22401060.php), "Harris County constables to earn $305,000 after latest pay raises" (…22371661.php), "Lina Hidalgo says tax hike may be needed as Harris County faces $270M deficit" (…20339731.php), and chron.com "County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth declines $126K pay raise"; KHOU — "'Changing for the worse' | $129 million budget deficit projected" and "Harris County approves 2026 budget." Their reporting is reflected through the Yahoo-syndicated copies and other outlets above. OpenPayrolls.com and OpenGovPay.com (third-party payroll aggregators) also block automated access; hcsopolicy.com Policy 704 has step structure but no dollar figures. Search-engine snippets from these pages were used only where consistent with primary documents.

C2. Sources added for the salary comparison (retrieved 2026-09-21)

Date Source Title URL Local copy Used for
2025-08-07 Harris County Commissioners Court (Legistar) Item 25-4911: increase county supplement for District Court judges from $18,013 to $25,000 effective 9/1/2025 https://harriscountytx.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7500727&GUID=3DB184CC-F0C9-4500-83B7-7C98C95DBBD5&FullText=1 sources/news/legistar_2025-08-07_item_25-4911_district_judge_supplement.html Judges' pay FY25 vs FY26/FY27; SB 293; 9.2% COLA for county courts at law judges (Aug. 6 2024)
2025-05-29 Texas Scorecard Harris County bureaucrats among America's highest-paid government employees https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-bureaucrats-among-americas-highest-paid-government-employees/ sources/news/texasscorecard_2025-05-29_highest_paid_bureaucrats.html Named executive salaries FY2024-25
2025-10-20 Houston Chronicle via Yahoo Harris County Constables' pay has nearly doubled since 2024 https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/harris-county-constables-pay-nearly-222931577.html sources/news/yahoo_chronicle_2025-10-20_constables_pay_doubled.html Constable and sheriff pay history
2025-10-22 Forward Times Big Checks, Bigger Deficit: Harris County officials push for raises as top pay nears $413K https://www.forwardtimes.com/news/big-checks-bigger-deficit-harris-county-officials-push-for-raises-as-top-pay-nears-413k/article_8ff17a8c-662b-406a-953c-a68209c1a901.html sources/news/forwardtimes_2025-10-22_big_checks_bigger_deficit.html Judge/commissioner 2023 pay ($190,860/$182,560), chief-of-staff $405,000, District Clerk request
2026-02/07 ABC13 via Yahoo Hundreds applied for $411k job filled by late Congresswoman's daughter https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/hundreds-applied-411k-job-filled-032916880.html sources/news/yahoo_abc13_2026_411k_administrator_job.html County Administrator salary $411,000 (Feb. 12 2026)
2025-10-30 Harris County Compensation & Pay Equity Project "The Progress" and "Implementation FAQ" pages https://compensationproject.harriscountytx.gov/ sources/news/compensationproject_progress_page.html; …_implementation_faq.html 20-grade structure, 758 titles, Feb. 2026 effective date, below-minimum rule

Additional parsed data files: data/salary_plan_fy26.csv, data/salary_plan_new_fy27.csv, data/salary_plan_fy26_vs_new_matched_titles.csv, data/new_salary_plan_grades_fy27.csv, data/le_step_plan_fy26.csv, data/le_step_plan_new_fy27.csv, data/elected_officials_salaries_fy26_fy27.csv, data/appointed_department_head_parity_fy27.csv, data/vol2_labor_nonlabor_by_department.csv; narrative in notes/salary_comparison_2026_vs_2027.md.

C3. Sources added for the health-benefits investigation (retrieved 2026-09-21)

Source Title / content URL Local copy Used for
Harris County Benefits & Wellness Premiums page (2026 employee bi-weekly rates, retiree 2026 monthly rates, COBRA, plan highlights) https://benefitsathctx.com/premiums/ sources/official/benefits/benefitsathctx_premiums_2026-09-21.html Employee and retiree cost split
Harris County Benefits & Wellness 2026 Employee Benefits Guide (48 pp.; premiums p. 13, plan comparison p. 6) https://benefitsathctx.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/HC-1653-Employee-Guide-2026_FINAL-Singles_WEB.pdf sources/official/benefits/HC_Employee_Benefits_Guide_2026.pdf Employee pays / county pays / total by tier; deductibles and OOP maximums
Harris County Benefits & Wellness 2027 Retiree Benefits Guide (32 pp.; premiums pp. 10-11; Aetna comparison p. 14; Humana p. 22) https://benefitsathctx.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/HSC_RetireeGuide_2027_v6_WEB.pdf sources/official/benefits/HC_Retiree_Benefits_Guide_2027.pdf 2027 retiree premiums and county share; plan design
Harris County Benefits & Wellness Health and Life After Retirement pages https://benefitsathctx.com/health/ ; https://benefitsathctx.com/financial/life-after-retirement/ sources/official/benefits/*.html EGWP effective date and savings; plan options
FY27 Proposed Budget Vol. I v3 pp. 16-18 Healthcare Costs (contribution history chart, Health Insurance Fund status chart, PPO premium and deductible peer charts) (item 1 above) sources/official/renders/FY27_VolI_v3_p16-18_*.png Fund revenue/expenses/reserves, 85/15 split, peer comparison
FY27 Proposed Budget Vol. I v1 (8/17/2026) p. 17: original recommendation of higher deductibles and employee premiums; +$90M; $24,767 per position (item 3 above) sources/official/FY27_Proposed_Budget_Volume_I_v1_08172026.pdf What OMB proposed before the Sept. 8 amendment
FY26 Adopted Budget Vol. I pp. 18-19: claims history, +$19.6M, $19,182 -> $20,228, employer spend-per-employee peer chart (item 6 above) sources/official/renders/FY26_VolI_p19_medical_claims_and_peer_spend.png FY26 baseline
County Auditor ACFR FY2025 Note 10 OPEB (pp. 95-97), Note 14 deficit funds (p. 103), internal service fund statements (pp. 225-226), finding 2025-002 (p. 298) (item 19 above) sources/official/auditor/HC%20Final%209-30-25.pdf Audited health fund results; OPEB liability; retiree eligibility rules
County Auditor Monthly Financial Report, June 30 2026 Internal service funds pp. 30-31 (Health Insurance Management) (item 16 above) sources/official/auditor/June%202026%20Monthly.pdf FY26 nine-month fund results and negative net position
Commissioners Court agenda, Aug. 17 2026 Items 3-4: new department for certain individuals receiving county health benefits; adopt 2027 premium rates and plan designs; Aetna programs (Enhanced National Pharmacy Network, Zerigo, PrudentMed) (item 14 above) sources/official/mirrored_by_reduceflooding/26.08.16-HCC-Agenda.pdf What the Court adopted on Aug. 17
Houston Public Media 9/17/2026; ABC13 9/2026; The Texan 9/9/2026; Texas Scorecard 9/9/2026; KTRH 9/9/2026; Houston Chronicle via Yahoo 9/9/2026 (listed in section C) sources/news/ Court decisions, quotes, $130,000 motion, peer premium comparison
Narrative: notes/healthcare_benefits_investigation.md; data: data/health_benefits_fy26_fy27.json.

C4. Sources added for the overtime question (retrieved 2026-09-21)

Source Title / content URL Local copy Used for
Harris County Sheriff's Office policy manual Policies 216 Work Hours, 217 Overtime, 218 Compensatory Time, 244 Extra Employment, 249 Special Assignment Duty, 704 Compensation for Deputies https://hcsopolicy.com/policy/217-overtime/ (and siblings) sources/official/hcso_policies/*.html Overtime eligibility, 40-hour threshold, exempt ranks, comp-time cap, extra-job limits
County Auditor Monthly Financial Reports (Sept. 30 2025, March 31 2026, June 30 2026), p. iii "General Fund - Overtime" GF overtime budget and spending; Sheriff's share (items 16-18) sources/official/auditor/ Overtime dollars
Houston Chronicle via Yahoo Harris County's top 10 overtime earners in 2025 made more than $1M in overtime https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/harris-countys-top-10-overtime-160020142.html sources/news/yahoo_chronicle_2025_top10_overtime_earners.html Sheriff overtime FY24 $56.6M, FY25 $40.5M, trend; top earners
Houston Public Media, 3/7/2025 Harris County to spend $3 million on 150 detention officers to alleviate mandatory overtime https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2025/03/07/515591/… sources/news/hpm_2025-03-07_150_detention_officers_mandatory_overtime.html Mandatory overtime, $13.7M annualized cost, outsourcing $58M
ABC13, 9/5/2026 (and Yahoo copy); Dallas Express 8/23/2024 Harris County constables receive $45k each in salary agreement; 2024 grievance raise https://abc13.com/post/harris-county-constables-receive-45k-each-salary-agreement/19791622/ sources/news/abc13_2026-08_constables_45k_back_pay.html; yahoo_abc13_constables_45k.html Back-pay agreement ($408,390), HB 4205, terms through 2030; 2024 constable raise to $178,509
Houston Chronicle via Yahoo, 9/2026 Harris County taxpayers are now subsidizing patrols for wealthy neighborhoods. It may be illegal. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/lawmakers-pay-raises-put-harris-120000152.html sources/news/yahoo_chronicle_2026-09_contract_patrol_subsidy_illegal.html Contract-patrol subsidy $76M, LGC ch. 351, 1,200+ deputies
Narrative: notes/overtime_and_extra_pay_law_enforcement.md.

C5. City of Houston sources for the pay comparison (retrieved 2026-09-21; copies in sources/city_of_houston/)

Source Content URL Local copy Used for
City of Houston HR, Compensation Division Job Classifications list (908 classifications: job code, pay grade, biweekly min/max, FLSA, EEOJ) https://www.houstontx.gov/hr/hrfiles/compensation/list_job_classifications_abc.pdf ; …_123.pdf classifications/list_job_classifications_abc.pdf, _123.pdf; data/coh_job_classifications.csv City ranges by title
City of Houston HR Civilian Pay Structure effective July 4, 2026 (grades 3-40, min/quartiles/max) https://houstontx.gov/hr/compensation/pay_structure.html coh_hr_pay_structure_page.html; data/coh_civilian_pay_structure.csv Grade structure; from revision 2 the City side of every range comparison (scripts/city_comparison_date_align.py)
City of Houston Open Data Payroll 2025 and 2026 (employee-level: pay grade, department, FLSA, EEOJ, annual base, gross, overtime, other pay; no names or titles) https://data.houstontx.gov/dataset/payroll (resources payroll-2025.csv, payroll-2026.csv) coh_payroll_2025.csv, coh_payroll_2026.csv; data/coh_payroll_2026_median_by_grade.csv Actual pay by grade, police/fire pay codes, executive and elected pay
Houston Police Department careers site Pay by rank (July 2026 scale), incentives https://www.hpdcareer.com/benefits.html (fetched) Sworn ladder cross-check
City of Houston / HPOU HPOU Contract Overview, May 2025 (36.5% over five years; $75,000 first-year base) https://houstontx.gov/council/committees/public-safety/20250508-joint-labor/HPOU-Contract-Overview.pdf HPOU_Contract_Overview_2025-05.pdf Police raise schedule
City of Houston Finance FY2027 Budget Overview and General Fund Five Year Forecast (raises: municipal 3.5%, fire 3%, police 8%; health $22,005 and pension $19,196 per employee) https://www.houstontx.gov/council/committees/fy27workshops/FY2027-Budget-Overview-Five-Year-Plan.pdf COH_FY2027_Budget_Overview_Five_Year_Plan.pdf City FY27 pay and benefit costs
City of Houston HR Benefits 2026 medical plan biweekly rates and plan features; 2026 Open Enrollment Guide https://www.houstontx.gov/hr/hrfiles/benefits/rates_medical.pdf ; …/oe/guide_open_enrollment.pdf COH_2026_medical_biweekly_rates.pdf; COH_2026_open_enrollment_guide.pdf Health premium comparison
City of Houston HR Municipal Employee Guidebook https://houstontx.gov/hr/hrfiles/employee_relations/guidebook_municipal_employee.pdf COH_Municipal_Employee_Guidebook.pdf Civil-service context
HMEPS / HPOPS actuarial valuations; Texas Pension Review Board HMEPS RSVS 2023 (Group D 3% member rate; City 8.44-8.48% + legacy payments); HPOPS RSVS 2025 (10.5% member); PRB plan 187 page (Social Security: yes) https://www.houstontx.gov/pensions/rsvs/HMEPS-RSVS-2023.pdf ; https://www.hpops.org/media/147861/hpops_rsvs-2025.pdf ; https://data.prb.texas.gov/plans/187.html HMEPS_RSVS_2023.pdf; HPOPS_RSVS_2025.pdf Pension comparison
Houston Landing / HPM / Chronicle (Nov. 2024); houston.org and HPM (June 2026) HOPE contract: minimum wage $16.75 -> $17.25 -> $18.00, 3.5% raises; FY2027 budget passed 15-1 June 10 2026 https://www.houstonlanding.org/city-council-oks-contract-giving-houston-municipal-workers-12-percent-raises-over-3-years/ ; https://houston.org/news/a-look-at-the-city-of-houstons-proposed-fy-2027-budget/ (fetched) City wage floor and raises
Narrative: notes/city_vs_county_pay_comparison.md; matched tables: data/coh_vs_county_matched_titles.csv (exact titles), data/coh_vs_county_hand_matched.csv (job-content pairs).

Also in sources/city_of_houston/classifications/: 756 individual City of Houston job-description PDFs (one per job code, e.g. 4003.pdf = Workers' Compensation Claims Coordinator, grade 17) and reqview.pdf (an HR "Request to View Personnel Records" form), fetched in bulk from the links on the City HR job-classifications page. They were not used for any figure in the report (the two classification list PDFs were), but they are the City's own descriptions of the jobs paired in coh_vs_county_hand_matched.csv. Twenty-four files from the same bulk fetch were HTTP 404 pages saved under .pdf names; they were removed on 2026-09-21 and are listed in notes/removed_404_pages_classifications.txt.

D. Data files produced from the sources (data/)

  • summary_metrics.json — every figure used in the report, with the source document for each block.
  • appendix_a_fy27_book.csv — FY24 actual, FY25 actual, FY26 adopted, FY27 adopted by department (FY27 Vol. I v3 App. A). Sums verified to printed totals.
  • appendix_a_fy26_book.csv — FY23 actual, FY24 actual, FY25 adopted, FY26 adopted (FY26 Vol. I App. A).
  • fy26_gf_budget_status_june2026.csv — Auditor's FY26 by-department budget status at June 30, 2026.
  • fy25_gf_budget_status_sept2025.csv — Auditor's FY25 by-department status at Sept. 30, 2025.
  • fy27_vs_fy26_by_department.csv — merged comparison used in Appendix A of the report.
  • vol2_change_items_by_department.csv, vol2_change_items_aggregated.csv, vol2_change_table_reconciliation.csv — FY27 Vol. II department-level change-table lines with fund labels; each of the 83 tables reconciles to its closing budget (revision 2).
  • vol2_le_positions.csv — positions by department for law-enforcement departments (Vol. II).
  • tax_rate_worksheets_2026_summary.txt — key lines from the four Form 50-856 worksheets.
  • text/ — pdftotext output of every PDF above.
  • Salary, benefits, overtime and City-comparison data files are listed under C2-C5.

E. Independent review (2026-09-23)

  • independent_review_2026-09-23/ — a separate review of the first edition: INDEPENDENT_REVIEW_SUMMARY.md/.pdf, FINDINGS_AND_METHOD.md/.pdf, recalculate.py with recalculated_results.json and CSV outputs, REVIEW_MANIFEST_SHA256.txt, and evidence/ (fresh downloads of seven official documents with hashes, the Sept. 17 2026 Commissioners Court transcript, the Texas Comptroller truth-in-taxation page, the enrolled text of HB 192, and the live HPD benefits and City pay-structure pages). Revision 2 of the report adopts its corrections (AUDIT_SUMMARY.md Section 14). Sources first used in revision 2 through that folder: Texas Comptroller, "Truth-in-Taxation" (comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/truth-in-taxation/); HB 192 enrolled, 89th Legislature 2nd called session (capitol.texas.gov); HPD careers "Benefits" page, cadet/probationary base $52,000 (hpdcareer.com/benefits.html).

F. Audit trail