Fort Bend County residents face a potential five-year financial hangover after a district judge ruled Wednesday, Aug. 5, that Interim County Judge Daniel Wong will stay in office while a lawsuit challenging his authority plays out on a schedule that runs past the county's Sept. 10 tax rate deadline.

Judge Edward Krenek, presiding in the 400th Judicial District Court, did not decide whether Wong has the legal right to hold office. He set an expedited timeline: discovery due Aug. 28, motions to dismiss filed between Aug. 28 and Sept. 10, a hearing Oct. 16 and, if needed, trial beginning Nov. 10.

No quorum means no budget.

That reality is now locked in through at least mid-October, because Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage have refused to attend meetings while the lawsuit is pending, denying the court the four-member quorum Texas law requires to adopt a tax rate.

"We can't put the cart before the horse and make a determination before he's entitled to his due process rights," Krenek said during the hearing, according to Covering Katy News. (Covering Katy's reporter Dennis Spellman has disclosed that he also serves as media relations manager for Commissioner Andy Meyers' Precinct 3.)

What's at stake for taxpayers

At a budget workshop the same day, County Auditor Ed Sturdivant warned that falling to the default tax rate could cost the county between $13 million and $21 million in annual revenue and take as many as five years to recover.

The county has approximately $120 million in road and mobility bonds and $30 million in park bonds ready to issue. Neither can move forward without the quorum. Proposed cost-of-living raises for county employees would also be eliminated under the default rate.

Sturdivant said every commissioner, including McCoy and Prestage, has been informed of the consequences.

The boycott

McCoy and Prestage, both Democrats, say their absence is not about the budget. In a joint video released Tuesday, Aug. 4, they said the issue is "the unresolved legal uncertainty surrounding Mr. Wong's authority to preside over Commissioners Court while that question is still before the courts."

Commissioner Prestage said he and McCoy would return if Wong steps aside while the courts resolve the dispute.

Commissioner Meyers, a Republican whose Precinct 3 includes much of the Katy area, pushed back. He said McCoy and Prestage have publicly acknowledged the financial harm their boycott will cause yet intend to continue it anyway.

Wong, Meyers and Commissioner Vincent Morales, whose Precinct 1 includes Fulshear, agreed at the workshop that elected officials should forgo their own cost-of-living adjustments if employees don't receive theirs.

How the dispute started

Wong, a former Sugar Land City Council member and the Republican nominee for county judge in November, was appointed April 10 by Visiting Judge Jeth Jones after then-County Judge KP George was convicted on two felony money laundering counts. On June 17, the plaintiff in the original civil removal case filed a nonsuit, voluntarily dismissing it. McCoy, Prestage and County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson argue that dismissal automatically ended Wong's appointment; Wong and his attorneys say the Texas Constitution's holdover provision requires him to continue serving until a successor qualifies.

Smith-Lawson filed the quo warranto lawsuit July 15, arguing the April order is void because the removal case was prosecuted by a private citizen rather than the State.

Wong's attorney Chris Hilton told the court Wednesday that Commissioners Court previously accepted Wong's oath with votes from both McCoy and Prestage, and that Texas law allows Wong to serve until a court rules otherwise.

What's next

The budget calendar remains in place: Commissioners Court is scheduled to propose a tax rate Aug. 13, file the proposed budget Aug. 31, hold a public hearing Sept. 9 and adopt the tax rate and FY 2027 budget Sept. 10. All steps requiring a four-member quorum depend on McCoy and Prestage showing up.

Krenek also ordered both sides to submit written arguments on whether the court should consider temporarily removing Wong or limiting his authority before trial.

The next key date is the Oct. 16 hearing on motions to dismiss.