The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the work from home era for Americans. It created the ability to work from home, which was great while every building in existence was foolishly closed. But we are now five years removed from the pandemic, and most people are returning to working in the office, as they should be at this point.

But federal workers have somehow been the exemption from that, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has found thousands of such cases. All of them have been required to return to the office. In Harris County though, under the dreadful leadership of County Judge Lina Hidalgo, it has found to be the exact opposite. In fact, most employees do not even live in the area.

Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on the court, has found that over 2,000 Harris County employees working from home are living in Austin or Dallas. Those are cities that are at least 3 hours away from Houston. Some county departments have 98 percent of staff working from home, and a large chunk do not even reside in Houston.

Former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill says this is another slap to the face of taxpayers in the county, and reeks of no accountability.

"Who is watching them? Who is making sure they are doing the job they are supposed to be doing? Also...why are we not hiring people from Harris County?" says Woodfill.

Commissioner Ramsey said in his findings that it took six months to get work-from-home numbers from the county. Mayor John Whitmire has ordered all city employees return to the office, in accordance with moves President Trump has made. Yet, Linda Hidalgo continues letting the county get away with waste that borders on the definition of fraud.

It is a ridiculous concept that a Harris County employee, in charge of taxpayer dollars, is working in Dallas or Austin. It is not just ridiculous but is also hurts residents.

"Why are we farming these jobs out to Dallas and Austin? There is no accountability for one...but those people working in Dallas or Austin cannot appreciate the huge problems we have in Harris County with homelessness and infrastructure...it is a complete mess," says Woodfill.

Sure, plenty of county and city workers live in suburban areas of Houston and might not be in Harris County. But an employee living in Montgomery County, versus residing in Tarrant County, is not remotely the same.

DOGE has managed to fix some of that problem, by demanding people show up to work or be fired. That changed people's tune on the matter very quickly. Simple, yet very effective. So, it is about time Houston did its own 'DOGE-ing,' and cut the fat.

"What we need to do is identify those individuals, make sure they are removed from payroll, make sure those jobs are cut," says Woodfill. "People also need to be loud and vocal, and voice that outrage."

Where is the most effective place to make your voice heard? At the ballot box, of course.

"Conservative Republicans need to take control of Harris County government...and bring fiscal responsibility back," says Woodfill. "Elected officials only respond when their jobs are threatened at the ballot box...we need to hold them accountable and let them know this will not be tolerated."

Any change to the county's work-from-home policy must be approved by the Commissioner's Court. Considering Judge Hidalgo routinely holds the court hostage for ten-plus hour meetings, which end up in Hidalgo throwing temper tantrums, that might take a while to accomplish.

Houston's Morning News with Jimmy Barrett