Harris County bean counters are expecting this year's budget to remain flat due to Harvey.
The county’s budget officer Tuesday proposed a $1.49 billion budget for the fiscal year which begins on March 1. That’s an increase of just 2.4 percent -- about half of the typical increase needed to keep up with population growth each year.
But lower revenue is expected since the values of hundreds of thousands of properties damaged by Harvey likely went down after the recent appraisal. Property taxes account for 79 percent of the county's budget and will be collected in late 2018.
Budget Officer Bill Jackson promises no layoffs are expected. In fact, he says the only spending cuts will be made within his own department.
The county also is waiting to hear how much money it will be reimbursed from the state and federal government for storm recovery.