Fort Bend County taxpayers face a $21 million budget shortfall if two Democratic commissioners continue boycotting meetings past a Sept. 10 deadline, and a court ruling Friday, Aug. 14, makes it likely the standoff will persist.

Visiting District Judge Jeth Jones denied a request to vacate Daniel Wong's April appointment as interim county judge, according to Houston Public Media. This means Wong stays in his position.

Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage, both Democrats, have refused to attend commissioners court since June 17, arguing Wong lacks legal authority to preside. Their absence leaves the court one member short of the four-person quorum required to adopt a tax rate.

The county plans to vote on its $792 million fiscal year 2027 budget and property tax rate on Thursday, Sept. 10. If a quorum is not present, state law forces the county onto the no-new-revenue rate, cutting roughly $21 million from the proposed budget, according to County Finance Director Pamela Gubbels. Missouri City and Stafford residents pay Fort Bend County property taxes that fund roads, parks and public safety services affected by the dispute.

As we reported Aug. 14, those cuts would eliminate proposed cost-of-living raises for county employees and elected officials. County Auditor Ed Sturdivant has warned the shortfall would also halt preparation for future bond sales, pause mobility and parks projects once current funds run out and delay additional debt issuance until at least fiscal year 2028.

Meanwhile, a separate legal challenge to Wong's authority now has a trial date. Judge Edward Krenek set a Nov. 10 trial for the quo warranto lawsuit filed by County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson, a twice-elected Democrat who argues Wong's appointment expired when the underlying civil case was dismissed in June. That trial would begin one week after the Nov. 3 election, in which Wong faces McCoy for the four-year county judge term starting Jan. 1, 2027.

"His failure to produce a legal order or excuse himself from critical votes continues to hold our county hostage and risks financial calamity," McCoy said at the Aug. 13 commissioners court meeting, according to ABC 13.

Wong has pushed back, saying in an Aug. 8 statement that county employees "should never become casualties of a political boycott."

Smith-Lawson's office said in a statement that the dispute is unprecedented in Texas county history and is properly before the court for resolution.

The next key date: an Aug. 28 deadline for discovery responses in the quo warranto case, followed by an Oct. 16 hearing on motions. If the boycott holds, the county must adopt its budget by the state-mandated Sept. 30 deadline or default to the lower tax rate automatically.