AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., sent a letter to Judge Lina Hidalgo this morning calling on Harris County to focus on systematic process improvements to eliminate further delays to ensure funding for disaster recovery flood mitigation projects are not placed in jeopardy.
“Harris County needs shovels, not scapegoats,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “We have grave concerns about Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) not meeting its benchmarks partially due to the arbitrary procedures imposed by the Harris County Commissioners Court (Court). It is our opinion that regardless of who is leading HCFCD, if the Court continues business as usual, compelling HCFCD to repeatedly address the Court for every minor change, there is likely zero chance of successfully meeting the grant timeline established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
In March 2022, Judge Hidalgo stated that Harris County stood ready to work with the GLO “to invest in shovel ready flood mitigation projects that will benefit all residents of Harris County.” Shortly after being sworn into office, Commissioner Buckingham announced her decision to keep the $322 million of disaster recovery funds local. This decision was based on assurances of “shovel readiness” and the county’s capacity, experience, and understanding of federal regulations needed to meet the federal deadline.
The GLO has spent more than $5 million of its own grant funding on a dedicated team responsible for federal grant guidance and technical support, who have conducted more than 750 meetings “to provide staff support to Harris County to ensure these projects are completed on time in accordance with the federal deadline, yet there are still too few shovels in the ground.”
Commissioner Buckingham concludes the letter by saying, “It’s time to put aside disagreements with executive leadership at HCFCD or personal differences in management and finish the job. Shovels, not scapegoats.”
To read the full letter sent to Judge Hidalgo, click the button below:
To review information displaying Harris Counties “shovel ready projects,” the timeline of disaster recovery funding and an observed list of failures, click the buttons below:
