Why am I not surprised that Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia, the MAGAs wanna be, were not truthful about cuts to other departments regarding the vote on constable pay.
The article from the Houston Chronicle is behind a paywall.
Departments other than the county’s law enforcement agencies, which are shielded from budget cuts under Texas law, will have to dig deeper to find savings other than what was initially asked of them. That will likely prove difficult as officials had already begun voicing concerns over how the proposed budget would impact their bottom line.
District Attorney – Will lose prosecutors and have millions less for domestic abuse and mental health:
Probate Courts – thousands of dollars less to check to see that those with health needs are properly being cared for.
Health Department – in the event of future emergencies, they may not be available to assist.
Sheriff’s Department – millions more to send prisoners elsewhere, a lack of prosecutors means longer time before the cases go to trial.
The county’s deficit is the worst since the years immediately following the 2008 financial crisis, and regardless of how commissioners decide to balance it, there will be “pain,” Ramos said. They have until early September to finalize the budget and determine exactly what that pain will look like.
Constables and Crime – not a concern for at least half of the residents of Harris County
I reside in the City of Houston, and I am not aware of any constable patrols or benefits we receive, except for writing traffic citations on Houston streets. So count me and my family as not voting for a tax increase for constable pay raises. I would vote to get rid of the lot of them and happily pay less in taxes. Because of my age and the value of my house, when I hit the magic number of 65, my taxes went down. My taxes were zero last year. But, for the vast majority of my life, I did not get those exemptions.
Crime may be a concern, but maintaining the constables would not benefit Houstonians or other Harris County residents living in municipalities with their police departments.