66°
Bill King News
OPINION: Metro ridership gradually improving
By Bill King | Oct 28, 2025
Houston Metro recently released its year-end ridership report. It shows that total ridership marginally improved last year from 73.3 to 76.3 million boardings, a 4% increase.
OPINION: Harris County charts plan to implement 2018 flood bond program
By Bill King | Oct 1, 2025
In 2018, in the wake of the devastating Harvey flooding, Harris County residents voted by a wide margin to approve $2.5 billion in bonds for flood improvements throughout the County.
OPINION: Baker Institute review of HCTRA financial statements
By Bill King | Aug 18, 2025
As most of you are aware, the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at the Baker Institute, where I am a fellow, has undertaken to review the financial statements issued by various local governmental entities in the Houston region.
OPINION: 57% of residents think Harris County is going in the wrong direction
By Bill King | Jul 29, 2025
A new poll from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, finds that 57% of Harris County residents believe the county is headed in the wrong direction.
OPINION: Births in Harris County on downward trend for last decade
By Bill King | Jul 1, 2025
According to the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics, births in Harris County reached a peak of 73,427 in 2015. After 2015, the birth rate began to decline steadily.
OPINION: Overtime at the City of Houston
By Bill King | Apr 8, 2025
You have probably seen news recently about the amount of overtime being paid by the City.
OPINION: Review of City of Houston 2023-2024 Audit
By Bill King | Apr 1, 2025
All governmental entities in Texas are required to issue an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) within six months of the end of its fiscal year.
OPINION: Disparities in HISD campus utilization
By Bill King | Mar 15, 2025
We just released a paper at the Baker Institute, which analyses the patterns of campus utilization across HISD’s 255 campuses.
OPINION: Harris County Toll Road Reform
By Bill King | Mar 1, 2025
As I have previously shared with you, the Harris County Toll Road system has become a cash cow. Last year, it earned a profit of over $400 million.
Another City of Houston fiscal chicken comes home to roost
By Bill King | Feb 13, 2025
When Sylvester Turner left the Mayor’s office at the end of 2023, he boasted of a supposed surplus in the City finances. Indeed, as of December 31, 2023, the general fund showed a healthy $485 million balance.
OPINION: Harris County Tax Bill Sticker Shock
By Bill King | Dec 27, 2024
As I have previously shared with you, when Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo claimed that the Commissioners’ Court was raising property taxes by 8%.
OPINION: Houston TIRZs are $1 billion in debt
By Bill King | Nov 27, 2024
As of last year, Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs) had just under $1 billion in combined liabilities.
OPINION: Houston City Council members propose property tax increase
By Bill King | Oct 11, 2024
Four members of the Houston City Council (Martinez, Castillo, Alcorn & Plummer) have proposed increasing the City’s tax rate by 5%.
OPINION: Harris County has raised property taxes by nearly 30% in the last two years
By Bill King | Oct 2, 2024
It has been widely reported by the local media that Harris County Commissioners’ Court increased taxes by 8% at their meeting on September 19.
OPINION: Toll roads have become cash cow for Harris County
By Bill King | Sep 20, 2024
The Harris County toll roads are very profitable. Over the last decade, the toll revenue has grown from $610 million annually to $896 million, a 47% increase. Because the expenses for the toll roads are mostly fixed, the net income from them has soared, growing by 78% ($230 million → $410 million). The cumulative profit over the last decade was just over $3.5 billion.
OPINION: Unpacking Houston's electricity outages - Part I
By Bill King | Aug 27, 2024
The Houston area has been subjected to two widespread power outages this year. Many in our region went two weeks or longer before power was restored. The outages have sparked widespread public outrage and castigation of the power companies, primarily CenterPoint, by the media and politicians.
OPINION: Have you made a hurricane plan for your family?
By Bill King | Jun 10, 2024
Author's Note: As my regular readers will likely recall, I was heavily involved in redrafting our region's evacuation plans after the disastrous Rita evacuation in 2005. Every few years, I remind everyone about the importance of having a plan in the event a major hurricane threatens our area and update the reminder with the latest information.
OPINION: Gulfton extension of the uptown BRT
By Bill King | Jun 3, 2024
The Uptown BRT has been such a raging success that the previous Metro leadership decided it should be extended to roughly four miles on the south end to the intersection of Chimney Rock and Bissonnet.
OPINION: A primer on Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones
By Bill King | May 21, 2024
In the last few years, there has been a great deal of media and public attention on the City of Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs). The TIRZs are a murky, complex world that elude simple explanations or generalizations. It is also very difficult to get good data on them. The City has done a poor job of overseeing the TIRZs and the financial reporting is disjointed and difficult to access.
OPINION: Metro’s proposed BRT projects would be the biggest taxpayer boondoggle in Houston’s history
By Bill King | Apr 23, 2024
Metro’s previous leadership proposed the construction of two bus rapid transit (“BRT”) lines. At an estimated cost of over $3 billion, these two projects, if constructed, would be the most colossal waste of taxpayers’ money in the history of the City.