Overview

• Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia held a joint briefing to outline a plan for bridging what they called a $270 million deficit without raising property taxes or cutting core services.
• County Judge Lina Hidalgo countered in a separate news conference that the shortfall could exceed $270 million and faulted earlier law-enforcement pay increases for worsening fiscal strain.
• Hidalgo refused to back proposed six-figure raises for the county’s constables and sheriff until a comprehensive funding plan for other departments is secured.
• Lesley Briones, Adrian Garcia and Commissioner Tom Ramsey formally censured Hidalgo for breaking decorum during debate over a failed early-childhood tax proposal.
• The commissioners court has launched department-by-department cost reviews and set public budget hearings for early September ahead of a final vote later in the month.