Harris County commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to advance a 7.6% property tax increase that will set the highest county rate since at least the mid-1980s, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who represents the Katy area in Harris County, voted against the increase alongside County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Commissioners Rodney Ellis, Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia voted yes.

The hike will cost the average homeowner between $120 and $198 more per year, depending on the estimate. Hidalgo pegged the figure at about $120. The county's Office of Management and Budget put it closer to $198, according to the Chronicle.

The combined rate across all county-controlled taxing entities will be roughly 67 cents per $100 of taxable property value. The county-only portion rises from $0.38096 to $0.41750 per $100, according to Fox 26.

County officials said the hike is needed to close an estimated $180 million budget deficit, the fourth consecutive annual shortfall since 2023. Rising healthcare costs and law enforcement pay raises drove much of the gap. Deputy raises approved in May 2025 to match Houston Police Department salaries account for roughly $191 million in additional spending compared to before the raises were adopted, according to the Chronicle.

Nearly 200 people signed up to speak at Tuesday's meeting, KHOU reported. Some urged commissioners to preserve healthcare workers and programs. Others criticized county spending.

Hidalgo, the outgoing county judge, sided with Ramsey, the court's lone Republican. She called the county's spending pattern unsustainable.

"It's just been this constant spend, spend, spend," Hidalgo said.

She added that she could not support raising the tax rate until the county has what she called a sustainable budget.

Ramsey had pushed to hold the rate flat at $0.38096, an option officials said would require roughly $243 million in budget cuts. In a Sept. 3 newsletter to Precinct 3 constituents, Ramsey wrote that he believed the county could pass a flat rate by focusing on statutory responsibilities and stopping the expansion of government services. At an Aug. 7 Commissioners Court meeting, Ramsey warned the proposal was "probably the greatest tax-rate increase in the history of Harris County."

Garcia said he felt forced to support the hike to avoid shutting down essential services. Ramsey said the county's general fund budget has grown from about $1.9 billion in 2019 to a proposed $3.2 billion.

The approved rate will generate a projected $15 million surplus. Commissioners plan to use it for programs previously funded through one-time revenue sources such as federal grants.

A final public hearing and budget vote is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.