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County Hotel Occupancy Taxes

09/14/2023

This memo explains how hotel occupancy taxes (HOT) may be collected by Harris County and how these funds can be spent in alignment with Texas statute. The Analyst's Office also collected feedback from four other Texas counties for their use of HOT funds and consulted with the Harris County Attorney's Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Auditor's Office to provide better context for the use of HOT funds. From Fiscal Year2018 to Short Fiscal Year 2022, Harris County collected $207.2 million in HOTfunds and had $20.7 million remaining. The Analyst’s Office provides four recommendations for the County's improved use of these funds.

  • budget

Updated Cost Estimate of County Services for an Individual Experiencing Homelessness

05/16/2022

In August 2020, the Harris County Commissioners Court’s Analyst’s Office published a memo, Cost Estimate of Harris County Services for an Individual Experiencing Homelessness, in response to a request from the Harris County Judge’s Office to “conduct the necessary research and analysis to calculate and report the average cost estimate of Harris County services provided to an individual experiencing homelessness.” Following two years of program and policy changes in HarrisCounty, this memo serves to update that August 2020 estimate and offer a multiyear comparison. In FY2021, the maximum utilization cost to Harris County for an individual 18 years and over experiencing homelessness is $126,132, a 26.6% increase from FY2020 ($99,611). The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the addition of new services, and new available funding explain, in part, the increase in the maximum utilization cost of services.

  • budget

Federal Pandemic-Related Funding to Independent School Districts

05/09/2022

There are 25 independent school districts in the Harris County area. Funds received by independent school districts in Harris County from the three federal pandemic relief acts (CARES, CRRSSA, and ARP) total $3,408,035,141. Of the funds received, Harris County independent school districts spent 15% or $501,371,520. This memo summarizes the funding by school district and aid type.

  • budget

Federal Pandemic-Related Funding to Community Colleges

03/01/2022

The four public community colleges in Harris County, Houston Community College, Lee College, Lone Star College, and San Jacinto Community College, received a cumulative $547,322,987 in aid through three federal pandemic-related funding acts over the last two years for student aid, technology needs, etc. This memo summarizes the funding by college and aid type. 

  • budget

Adopted Budget with Rollover and Expenditures for Select Harris County Departments, FY2008 – 2009 through FY2021 – 2022

02/25/2022

This memo details the budget allocations, budget spent, and rollover monies for all Harris County Constables, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and Harris County Pretrial Services from FY 2009 through FY 2022.

  • budget

Update: County Social Services-Public Safety-County Services Spending Comparison FY2010—FY2018

09/29/2021

This updated analysis expands upon a prior Analyst’s Office memo by comparing data from five jurisdictions outside of Texas—Cook County, IL; the City and County of Denver, CO; King County, WA; Maricopa County, AZ; and Miami-Dade County, FL; and four counties within Texas: Tarrant, Travis, Bexar, and Dallas counties—with data from Harris County. For six of the ten counties reviewed, annual spending related to Public Safety was higher than spending on County Services or Social Services. For the nine-year period analyzed, Harris County spent more on Public Safety (44%) than in any other category—three times the amount spent on Social Services (13%).

  • budget

Percent for Art Comparative Analysis

01/08/2021

Jurisdictions participate in capital budgeting to fund long-term fixed assets, like buildings, equipment, and land. Percent for Art policies allow jurisdictions to set aside a specific percent of capital funds for public artwork with the intention of making public spaces more appealing, useful, or accessible. This memo provides both an overview of best practices for Percent for Art policies and an overview of several cities and counties across the United States with existing Percent for Art policies. 

  • Budget
  • government

County Social Services-Public Safety-County Services Spending Comparison

12/14/2020

This analysis compares public spending in the areas of social services, public safety, and county services from FY2010 to FY2018 across five Texas jurisdictions: Bexar County, Dallas County, Harris County, Tarrant County, and Travis County. For most counties, Public Safety was the greatest category of spending. For the eight-year period analyzed, Harris County spent more on Public Safety (44%) than any other category—three times the amount spent on Social Services (13%). An analysis featuring jurisdictions outside of Texas is forthcoming.

  • budget
  • government

Cost Estimate of Harris County Services for an Individual Experiencing Homelessness

08/12/2020

Costs for services provided to individuals experiencing homelessness vary widely depending upon the root cause of homelessness and the service response needed. Root causes such as job loss, natural disaster, mental illness, or substance or alcohol addiction often require individuals to draw upon multiple County services. This report estimates the total annual average costs per person incurred to Harris County for services provided to individuals experiencing homelessness.

  • budget

Zero Based Budgeting Analysis

07/21/2020

This report provides an overview of Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB) - a method of budgeting that compels budgeting entities to create budgets starting from zero and provide justifications for each expenditure for consideration by decision-makers. This report highlights four case studies that demonstrate how local governments have applied variations of ZBB and includes three policy options for Harris County Commissioners Court to consider.

  • budget
  • government

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