Lately, I have noticed the Chronicle’s constant attempts to attack the commissioners, especially the Democrats. Their story on taxes is bullshit. I don’t know if it was intentional, but someone should check its veracity. We already have people not trusting the media; stuff like what they did with this article is why. Maybe that is why it’s under “Political.” It is free advertisement for the party that is not Democrat.
The Houston Chronicle reported that average Harris County property tax bills have risen roughly 60% since Democrats took control of Commissioners Court. That framing invites readers to assign political responsibility before considering what produced the increase. Whether intentional or not, it can leave an impression that the underlying figures do not establish.
A tax bill is not a tax rate. According to the county’s adopted budget, the combined rate for county government, flood control, the hospital district and the port increased from $0.61170 per $100 of taxable value in 2019 to $0.67147 in 2026. That is approximately 9.8%, not 60%. The county-government rate alone rose about 2.5% over that period.
Those figures do not disprove an increase in average bills. They demonstrate why the explanation matters: the amount owed depends on the value being taxed as well as the rate. The county’s current benchmark uses a $402,489 average appraised homestead value and the ordinary 20% exemption. Individual bills also depend on appraisal caps and additional exemptions.
We all want our property values to rise—until the tax bill arrives. Then we rush to protest the appraisal. There is humor in that contradiction, but also a serious problem: a more valuable house does not automatically give its owner more cash to pay taxes.
Commissioners are responsible for the rates they adopt and the spending they authorize. They can be questioned about whether they sufficiently offset rising taxable values. But that argument requires separating their decisions from property appreciation, rather than allowing readers to treat the entire increase in a bill as an increase in the rate.
An average also cannot tell every homeowner’s story. Harris County retained an additional exemption up to $320,000 for qualifying senior or disabled homeowners, alongside its general homestead exemption. Their experience can differ substantially from the ordinary benchmark.
A clearer headline would have said: “Average Harris County Tax Bills Rose 60% as Home Values and Tax Rates Changed.” The article could then examine which decisions contributed to that increase and by how much.
Good writing makes an argument easy to read. Sound analysis makes clear what its numbers actually prove. Readers deserve both, especially when a headline may be the only part they read.
