Slush Fund
You’ve got to love the way Harris County politicians find ways to spend your money when they don’t need to. Welcome to the Harris County government you elected.
Slush Fund
“I think all of us would be wise to be careful with what we say in public,” said Commissioner Rodney Ellis.
We know politicians like to keep secrets from us mere peasants, but Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis is bold enough to say it out loud.
“We all know this is federal money and we know we are under appropriate, close review by them,” Commissioner Tom Ramsey said.
With the chainsaw out in Washington, Commissioner Tom Ramsey wonders aloud what will happen if the feds do what we think they should do—take leftover COVID money and return it to taxpayers and investigate the way places like Harris County are spending leftover COVID money, or moving it around to get through a loophole.
“I know it is a flex fund. I won’t refer to it as a slush fund,” Ramsey said.
But lots of people are calling the $315 million we now have stashed away exactly that—a slush fund, just like the so-called surplus toll road money.
“And with all due respect to my fellow panelists, I call it a slush fund. It’s not a surplus, right? And, Senator Nichols, I go back, like you, a long way. I will tell you that if you ask nine out of ten people who voted for that toll road deal back then, they thought that we’d pay off the darn roads and then they would be free. And if you had a vote today, there would be none of this nonsense,” Wayne Dolcefino said in a meeting.
State lawmakers may take away some of the toll road stash.
But, Rodney is also nervous about the feds taking away the COVID stash, too.
“But I would just say for all of us to tread lightly. But I just encourage my colleagues, to the extent legally, we could go into executive session,” Ellis said.
So what do we get? Secrecy.
“I didn’t go to Rice either, but I went to the Naval Academy and Stanford and I guess the literary allusion I’d use for this is, ‘something’s rotten in Denmark,’” said Senator Brent Hagenbuch.
“I don’t know about Denmark, Senator, but the stench coming from Harris County these days? Well, it’s simply too much to ignore,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“Look, you knew you were coming here today, right?” Asked Senator Borris Miles.
“Yes, sir,” answered Robert Treviño.
There’s been silence about the embarrassing testimony of the executive director of the Toll Road Authority before state lawmakers, who wanted to know more about the toll road and their slush fund, and how much money he actually had in the bank, too.
And guess what? They stumped the guy who you’re paying $485,000 a year to know stuff like that.
“You’re the executive director and you don’t know what your cash balance was at the end of the fiscal calendar year,” Senator Paul Bettencourt said to Treviño.
Roberto Trevino claimed he didn’t even know how much money was in the big slush—I mean surplus—fund now being doled out to county commissioners every year instead of lowering tolls.
“It fluctuates annually. Historically averages around 150,” Treviño said.
Either Trevino didn’t know the answer, or he was deceiving Texas senators.
“I’m having difficulty understanding your question,” Treviño said.
Or maybe he was just nervous because I was a couple feet away calling it all B.S.
“The Harris County commissioners don’t control it, and the reason they don’t control it is because they’re all getting a piece of the pie,” said Dolcefino.
Last year, Harris County commissioners and other bureaucrats actually split up about $240 million in surplus toll road money.
This year, the estimate is $290 million. That’s more than double what Treviño told lawmakers.
The proposed legislation in Austin would help one commissioner change a lot of that.
Precinct 3 has by far the most miles of road.
It would also take 30% of the surplus money going to commissioners now, and give it instead to the city of Houston to pay cops and firefighters who handle wrecks on the toll road.
That got commissioners to finally pay attention.
They called a special meeting and did what they usually do—go behind closed doors for the important stuff—and came out to proclaim the toll road slush fund problems had been fixed.
“This action we’re taking today, I think that would render those bills not necessary because the major issue has been dealt with,” said Commissioner Tom Ramsey.
“I’m so happy we solved this at home and I am so happy we made those bills moot,” said Commissioner Leslie Briones.
“Just hold on one second,” Dolcefino told the camera.
Carving up the slushy toll road pie a different way doesn’t lower the tolls or pay off the darn roads.
The City of Houston will cry foul, too.
And what about the state all the legislation calls for? That’s what they’re really worried about.
“HCTRA is the best run toll road in the country. None of us are concerned or worried about audits,” Commissioner Adrian Garcia said.
“There’s a very good chance people are getting ripped off, but we don’t even know because we can’t audit the fund,” Senator Bettencourt said.
The toll road bill cruised out of the Senate committee.
Next up was the House with all of the same scary elements.
“Since we’re on the subject of government slush funds, why don’t we catch you folks up on the billion dollars we got in Harris County because of Covid?” Dolcefino told the camera.
There weren’t a lot of strings attached at the time, but there were a few.
The money had to be spent or obligated, as they call it, to eligible stuff by the end of last year. The rest of the money had to be spent by the end of 2026.
“Sometimes when we’re handling government money, particularly federal money, those restraints are there for a reason,” Commissioner Ramsey said.
But Harris County came up with a financial gimmick, a loophole, I guess.
They transferred a third of all the money they had gotten to a fund they could spend until 2029.
How would that be legal? It’s like eight years after the pandemic ended.
The auditor was curious, too, but external auditors told him it was okay.
The very day that Rodney Ellis was trying to hush up fellow commissioners, President Trump was hearing from his Labor Secretary about clawing back unused COVID money.
“There’s about $4.4 billion in COVID funds that were not used that the state coffers were just holding on to,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer said.
The US Labor Secretary actually was talking about leftover money from another COVID stash—the CARES act. We’ve already spent all that money.
It’s the Treasury Department that’s now overseeing any possible recall of the ARPA money.
The Treasury officials’ notice to Harris County says “it’s committed to recouping funds that recipients obligated or expended impermissibly, as well as recapturing funds not obligated by the deadline.”
“I would have concerns,” Commissioner Ramsey said.
Given the current government scrutiny, Commissioner Ramsey didn’t think transferring $200 million more from the ARPA fund to this special flex fund was such a good idea.
“We just want to be prepared and nimble if there are any changes that come down quickly. And so it’s all about staging,” County Administrator Diana Ramirez said.
The county administrator’s justification for this seemed intentionally cryptic.
“Factors for different ARPA programs, what could be eligible for flex fund, what is not eligible for flex fund,” Ramirez continued to say.
Translation? We’re not really sure all of our programs and all of the spending are going to pass a federal smell test.
“I think all of us would be wise to be careful with what we say in public,” Commissioner Ellis said.
So, Rodney Ellis doesn’t want to say anything that would tip off the Treasury Department.
What a great message from a public official we elect to guard our tax money.
“I encourage my colleagues to the extent legally we can go to executive session because it will be in litigation or you’re going to feel some cuts you never dreamed of. Including in these precinct budgets. So, I would just suggest that as a word of caution,” Ellis continued.
We are about to head off a cliff once this ARPA money fund runs out.
Harris County currently has more than 200 employees, some of them high paid, being paid more than $17 million per year with ARPA money.
Are all of these people are going to get laid off, or is the county simply going to hit us with another big tax increase? I bet the latter.
“We are hooked on ARPA. It’s funding. It’s paying for things. It’s started programs.” Commissioner Ramsey said.
“Instead of focusing on the big issues. Our county judge, Lina Hidalgo, continues these bizarre insecurity episodes out in public,” Dolcefino told the camera.
“We are back from executive session. The time is now 10:03. So, we’ll call the meeting to order,” Commissioner Garcia said.
Commissioner Garcia had restarted the meeting thinking the county judge was no longer available.
But, two minutes after the meeting resumed, the judge reappears.
“Hey guys?” Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
“Oh, there you are,” Commissioner Garcia responded.
((Hidalgo: [00:05:21] You started court without me. That is not cool. Can I come back in? I was waiting for Commissioner Ellis to use the restroom. I don’t understand why the meeting was called to order without me,” Judge Hidalgo said.
“Judge, I apologize. We were told that you were not coming back on,” County Attorney Christian Menefee said.
“Who told you that?” asked Judge Hidalgo.
This serial hissy fit, this insecurity, is something we’ve all been forced to get used to over the last few years. And childish behavior from our judge is simply not new.
“I wanted to add comments,” Commissioner Garcia said.
“I wasn’t done with my sentence, commissioner,” Judge Hidalgo responded.
“I’m sorry, you’re coming in, your audio is bad,” Commissioner Garcia said.
Bad audio. Bad blood. This thing with Commissioner Garcia has produced some entertaining moments.
“I just don’t like this kind of rude behavior from males. I’m sorry, but I don’t. So, item 28. I’m not going to put up with it. I’m sorry. With the glaring, with not saying hello, he doesn’t even look at me,” Judge Hidalgo said.
Remember, Hidalgo had it in for now former District Attorney Kim Ogg, too. She lost reelection.
“Some of us are wrapped around the little finger of a woman, who I don’t know what the fuck she’s threatened you with, yes,” Judge Hidalgo said.
The F word at county commissioners’ court. Well, folks, you voted for it.
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