Hurricane season is here and for any Houstonian, that means the threat of a tropical system inundating the area with rain is an overwhelming possibility. Houston is no stranger to massive flood events, and since Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the area has taken steps at mitigating flood risks in Harris County.
That included a bond in 2018 for multiple flood and drainage projects, totaling around $2.5 billion. Many flood prone neighborhoods were set to get massive upgrades to protect their homes and properties. Instead, we are sitting here seven years later and not much has been done in these spots. Harris County Commissioners were set to get an update from the flood control district, and another deadline for an update passed last meeting with no update.
As a new hurricane season lights back up, some of those projects might even be on the chopping block, if there is no money left to get them done. Commissioner Tom Ramsey says the county will foot the bill if they have to.
"It is not acceptable to cancel projects...we have to find the money. If we have to stop some things we are currently doing, I am fine with that," he says. "That might mean other things do not get done."
The flood control district oversees the projects. Commissioners have asked leaders from them, and the engineering departments, for updates since February.
The inflation that has run rampant in recent years too is inflation, and the general cost of doing business, let alone construction. Things have become unaffordable even for the biggest entities, especially in a bond set in 2018 before inflation took off.
Inflation has its role in the project's delays. But there is another factor buried within the mound of projects. Harris County earlier this year passed a motion to raise minimum wage for county employees to $21/hour. While that seems great for some on the surface, lurking beneath is another cost problem.
"When you adopt this...people do not stop and think. That will increase the cost of doing construction by over 30 percent," Ramsey says.
To be fair, the Commissioners did vote to delay the increase at their meeting on Thursday. Inflation itself is not entirely in the county's control. They are not truly in control of supply costs, or various shipping delays that help drive up costs more.
But they have had some sense of control in this.
"When we raised taxes last year, which I think we did way too much...that has an impact on inflation, and has an impact on costs," says Ramsey.
Ramsey notes that the departments are working hard to gather the final information, and he expects to hear an update at their June 25th meeting.
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