Houston, Harris County face budget strains: property tax increases, potential cuts on the horizon

Houston is preparing possibly dealing with budget challenges in the next fiscal year due to the expenses from the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl, totaling $39.9M, without federal assistance. Currently, Houston’s property tax rate stands at .519 cents per $100 of assessed value. If the city maintains this rate, Houston’s Finance Director Melissa Dubowski warns of a looming $46 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, potentially leading to drastic budget cuts. Mayor John Whitmire emphasizes that such cuts could mean hundreds of layoffs. “To not use the toolkit available would require significant cuts,” Mayor Whitmire said during Wednesday’s council meeting. “We’re running the numbers with the finance director. It would require hundreds of layoffs.”