Thank you to the Greater Houston Partnership and
the League of Women Voters for once again hosting
this State of the County address. And, of course,
thanks to the sponsors for their generous support. A special
thanks
to Mayor Parker, not just for the kind introduction,
but for the strong working partnership she and I have already
forged. Oliver Wendell Holmes described the
strength of
his generation by saying, “We have shared the incommunicable
experience of war.” Well, Annise, you and I have shared
the incommunicable experience of Rice University. |
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Beyond our shared past, we now have a shared future.
Our constituents rightly expect Harris County and the City
of Houston to work together whenever possible to eliminate
duplication and to provide higher levels of efficiency.
For Harris County, that spirit of cooperation goes beyond
the City of Houston. It extends to the other 33 incorporated
municipalities and even to surrounding counties, because
so many of the needs and issues transcend city limits and
county boundaries. Add to the mix Metro, state agencies,
a myriad of municipal utility districts and other special
districts, and the possibilities for cooperation are almost
endless. |
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The cooperation most needed, and to which I most
look forward, is with our legislative delegation. Because
county government is an arm of the state, everything we
do is through a grant of power from either the state constitution
or the legislature. It is vital for us to collectively recognize
that Harris County is unique. Not only is Harris County
the most populous in Texas, but we have a vast amount of
populated, unincorporated area which – taken by itself – would
be the seventh-largest city in the United States. Clearly,
our needs as a county are quite different from rural counties,
or even the other urban counties in Texas. |
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And, speaking of our population, I must take this
opportunity to encourage everyone and every business to
participate in the upcoming census. An accurate count of
all residents is vital to our future. |
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This is my third “State of the County” speech, and
I am, as always, honored to be the representative of Harris
County Commissioners Court. |
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Given the condition of the economy and its impact
on county property values, Harris County is facing a challenging
year – nothing like the financial challenges facing
counties in other parts of the country, though. |
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The silver lining of this dark economic cloud is
the solid financial foundation of Harris County. Not to
carry the metaphors too far, but we will weather this storm
because of steady guidance. Obviously, Commissioners Court
has managed taxes and spending wisely for a long time, but
the steady guidance to which I refer comes from a low-key
gentleman by the name of Dick Raycraft, our county budget
officer and director of management services. I am no longer
surprised when someone tells me how Dr. Raycraft did this
or that to bring a program into reality, or to find a creative
way to solve a crisis. No discussion of the state of Harris
County would be complete without recognizing the 42-year
contribution of Dick Raycraft. |
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As I stand here today, Harris County Commissioners
Court and the various departments and offices are in the
midst of preparing the coming year’s budget. There
will likely be more changes than usual this year because
county government will be taking the same approach to the
economy as households and families – we will prioritize
our spending. |
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Frankly, I view these times as providing county
officials with the incentive to move closer to “zero-based
budgeting,” whereby spending programs have to be justified
every year, not merely continued through inertia. |
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But the state of Harris County is more than its
budget. |
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Almost every spiritual tradition encourages some
form of meditation, contemplation or introspection. A key
practice in many such traditions is to ask “Who am
I?” over and over to realize how many different answers
there are. In thinking about this address during an early-morning
walk, I came to a similar realization about Harris County
as an entity. |
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| What is the state of Harris County? As the county
judge, I can rattle off a long list of initiatives, programs
and projects, all of which tie back to matters of finance .
. . transportation, flood control, criminal justice, health
care, emergency management. The list is long and, from my perspective,
puts Harris County among the national leaders in local government.
Despite some challenges, I think the present state of the county
is quite good and healthy. |
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For me, though, the focus must
be on the future, and the key to that future is continued economic
development. That is why organizations like the Greater Houston
Partnership must truly be our partners. |
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Few residents, though,
have a broad, sweeping view of the county. They know about taxes,
and they see signs of flood control or other improvements, but how
would some of them describe the state of the county? |
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A 35-year-old secretary is stuck in traffic on U.S.
Highway 290 and is going to be late for her job. Every morning,
she gets angry. Why can’t somebody do something about
this mess? That is her state of the county, city and state,
and all levels of government. Solve her traffic problem,
and life is good. She is not alone. That is why Harris County
commissioners and the Harris County Toll Road Authority
are completing as many projects as fast as possible with
the resources available. And – in that specific corridor – funding
has been approved for the steps that will improve the 290/610
interchange and begin to develop commuter rail between Houston
and Hempstead and, perhaps, go all the way to Austin. To
the woman stuck in traffic, though, I would say, “Join
with us, and support state legislators who in next year’s
legislative session will have to make some wise decisions
about transportation funding.” |
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On a warm spring day, a family strolls the trails
of Mercer Arboretum. To them, the state of the county is
exhilarating and a foundation for learning and memories.
Commissioner Jerry Eversole and his employees are building
a legacy for future generations. |
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On almost any Sunday afternoon in far northwest
Harris County, Paul Rushing Park is the site of cricket
matches in which the diversity of our community is on display.
For the thousands of people who play or follow cricket in
Harris County and surrounding counties, the state of Harris
County is welcoming and cooperative, due to the efforts
of Commissioner Steve Radack and his staff. |
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Along Galveston Bay, lives are still disrupted by
Hurricane Ike. Those folks’ view of all levels of
government is colored entirely by their desire to regain
normalcy. Their state of the county is focused on such things
as the rebuilding of the Seabrook-Evelyn Meador Library,
clearing up FEMA funding issues and preparing for future
storms, all of which is being led by Commissioner Sylvia
Garcia and her staff. |
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Somewhere in Harris County, a group of 10-year-olds
are pretty much alone after school and during the summer.
If asked about their state of the county, they would probably
just stare at you. Commissioner El Franco Lee’s support
of numerous after-school programs and his innovative Street
Olympics have, in many uncounted instances, prevented them
from falling into the other jurisdictions of the county,
such as juvenile probation. |
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Of
course, I could also cite someone who uses
the toll road system, sometimes grumbling
about why he has to pay a toll, but not
necessarily understanding just how vital
that system has been to the mobility and
economic development of not just Harris
County, but the entire region.
Or next month, when hundreds of thousands
of people attend the Houston Livestock
Show and Rodeo in Harris County’s
Reliant Park, few will comment on those
facilities, but my office will receive
a new round of calls, e-mails and letters
curious about the fate of the Astrodome.
The Harris County Domed Stadium is still
an icon and symbol of Harris County.
Yes, there are many “states of the
county.”
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Most of those I have mentioned develop their views
through daily life and routine experiences. County officials
and employees should always listen to those voices, because
they largely pay the taxes and use county services and facilities.
But there are some other views that we must seek out. In
fact, we must speak for them. |
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A
13-year-old boy who is dared by his buddies
to steal from a local store finds himself
alone and scared – though he won’t
admit it – in the Juvenile Detention
Center. Those surroundings and how he is treated
is his state of the county. And, for the rest
of us, how the county deals with him will
determine whether he becomes a productive
member of the community or ends up in the
adult criminal justice system – or even
worse. Since September 2007, Harris County
has been working with a grant from the Annie
Casey Foundation to make sure that our juvenile
justice system is the best possible. The county’s
juvenile judges, District Attorney Pat Lykos,
the Juvenile Probation Department and many
others, like Reverend Jefferson and Ministers
Against Crime, are committed to stemming the
tide of youthful crime that leads to a life
of crime.
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A 40-year-old man with significant mental health
issues who cannot function completely on his own, but who
can work and live a meaningful life if given proper care.
Without that care, he is likely to end up living under a
highway overpass from where he becomes part of the revolving
door into and out of the Harris County Jail and the Harris
County Hospital District. What is the state of the county
to that man? Some great work is being done in this area
by the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Authority of Harris
County and other public and private groups, but so much
more is needed. More coordinated, focused attention to the
needs of those with mental health issues is a personal cause
for me. |
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A 25-year-old mother of three children living paycheck to paycheck
in a rundown apartment complex. Her youngest, an infant, was awake
all night with high fever, but she is afraid to take her to the hospital.
She finally arranges for a neighbor to watch the other two children,
calls in sick at work, and struggles to find her way by bus to the
Ben Taub emergency room, where the infant receives the highest quality
care. The young mother herself has not had a routine checkup in years.
Eventually, her health will deteriorate, and her children will struggle
in many ways. For the state of Harris County to be acceptable, we
must do everything we can to give people like her access to a neighborhood
clinic as their medical home, so her children can receive proper immunizations
and the entire family can receive preventive care instead of crisis
care. |
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Yes, Harris County is in better shape than almost
anywhere else in the country, if not the world. Yes, the
elected and appointed officials fully understand that we
need to constantly improve infrastructure – particularly
transportation infrastructure - in order to realize this
area’s potential to become the Gateway to North America.
If goods and people cannot move, our economy will stagnate. |
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But more and more in the coming years, the final
analysis will be that the state of the county is measured
in human terms. If we are shortsighted now, future costs
associated with health care, criminal justice and other
issues will spiral out of control, leaving us unable to
meet either social or infrastructure needs. And we will
find ourselves saddled with too many unhealthy and uneducated
people among us. |
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That is why it is so important today to recognize
the state of the county from so many different viewpoints.
For my state of the county is a snapshot. Others provide
the lens that allows us to look into the future. We are
well-positioned to bring that future into focus. It will
take all of us in the public, private and non-profit sectors
working together to do it, but we have a strong foundation
from which to start. |
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All of us working together can use that foundation
to make sure that Harris County leads the nation into the
future. |
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Thank you for giving me this opportunity today. |
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