Ramsey on Harris County budget impasse: 'Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Ellis and Garcia continue to retaliate against Precinct 3 and 4 constituents'

The Harris County Commissioners Court remains stalled when it comes to the budget, with two of the body’s Republican members furthering their boycott, Houston-based media outlets reported.

Tuesday was the third time commissioners R. Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey were absent from budget talks, according to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC. The men hope their boycott would sink their Democratic colleagues’ new proposed tax rate.

According to Cagle, KPRC reported, he’d make the meetings if debate was allowed.

“If we can have a fair discussion without the axe laid bare at the table, I would be delighted to be there,” the leader of Harris County Precinct 4 told the station.

Per KPRC, Cagle’s and Ramsey’s continued absences and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s early departure because of doctors’ advice in relation to a recent health episode whittled down the court at its most recent session.

The station reported that Ramsey, who represents Precinct 3, decried what he asserts is Hidalgo’s “lack of leadership” on the budget in an issued statement.

“She has yet to respond to Commissioner Cagle’s request for a special meeting, and concluded [Tuesday’s] meeting without a plan on how to handle the budget proposals,” Ramsey said. “Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners [Rodney] Ellis and [Adrian] Garcia continue to retaliate against Precinct 3 and 4 constituents for their wishes of a more fiscally responsible budget.”

Per the statement, Ramsey further accused Hidalgo, Ellis and Garcia of acts he labelled “unprofessional” and “flat out wrong.”

Houston Public Media (HPM) reported that Cagle had proposed an alternative tax plan that would cost taxpayers $149 million, around $110 million lower than what Hidalgo and Democratic commissioners Ellis and Garcia brought to the horseshoe.

Though Hidalgo expressed some optimism toward Cagle’s proposal, HPM reported, she said it came too late for the court to consider.

Cagle feared that if he attended a meeting, the court’s Democrats would pass their proposal without allotting even a little time to discuss his.

“Yes, I've been invited to create the quorum to debate my proposal, which means the minute that I walk in, the quorum would be there, and we would not necessarily have any debate,” he told HPM.

Ellis, in a statement obtained by KPRC, accused Cagle and Ramsey of “recklessly blocking” the budget.

“I’m open to hearing any proposal from them that also does that, but I’ve yet to see anything at all,” Ellis said in the statement. “We can’t debate people who don’t show up, and we can’t discuss a plan that doesn’t exist … It’s time they put politics aside to do what’s right for the people of Harris County.”

KPRC reported that the court has until Oct. 28 to adopt a new tax rate, with Hidalgo looking to meet at least one more time.

State law dictates that in order for county governments to vote on tax matters, they must achieve a super quorum of four court members, something that the Harris County Commissioners Court has been struggling to do.