Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong issued a public statement Tuesday, Aug. 11, warning that the ongoing quorum standoff at Commissioners Court is putting county employees and their families at financial risk, with a $10.4 million pool of cost-of-living raises hanging in the balance.
The statement, posted on Wong's official government X account, came one day before a scheduled Thursday, Aug. 13, Commissioners Court meeting where members are expected to propose a tax rate and set public hearings. If the court cannot assemble a four-member quorum by Sept. 10, the roughly 3% raises budgeted for full- and part-time employees would be eliminated entirely.
That money is now at risk.
Those employees include sheriff's deputies, emergency dispatchers, road and bridge crews, librarians, parks workers and public health staff who serve Missouri City, Stafford and the rest of Fort Bend County.
"Our employees should never become casualties of a political boycott," Wong said in a statement after an Aug. 4 budget workshop, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
Why the quorum is missing
Democratic Commissioners Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy have boycotted Commissioners Court meetings since June 25, leaving only three members regularly attending: Wong and Republican Commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales. Texas law requires at least four members present to adopt a county tax rate.
McCoy said in a video released Aug. 4 that the boycott is not about the budget itself but about "unresolved legal uncertainty" surrounding Wong's authority to preside while a lawsuit challenging his appointment remains pending. County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson filed a quo warranto case seeking Wong's removal; a trial date is set for Nov. 10, one week after the general election in which Wong and McCoy face each other for the county judge seat.
On Monday, Aug. 10, Visiting Judge Jeth Jones denied motions seeking to modify the order that put Wong in office, according to Covering Katy. Wong's legal team also filed a response asking the court to dismiss the removal lawsuit.
What's at stake by Sept. 10
The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget totals $792 million and assumes the overall county and drainage tax rate will remain at 42.2 cents per $100 of taxable value. County Auditor Ed Sturdivant warned at the Aug. 4 workshop that defaulting to the no-new-revenue rate would create a $21 million revenue shortfall that could take up to five years to recover.
Beyond employee raises, the standoff has also frozen roughly $120 million in bonds for road and mobility projects and $30 million in bonds for park projects. The county has already advanced about $70 million from its general fund to keep mobility work moving.
Finance Director Pamela Gubbels moved the tax-rate vote to Sept. 10 to preserve time for legally required notices, given the uncertainty about whether a quorum will materialize.
If no rate is adopted by Sept. 30, the county automatically reverts to the no-new-revenue rate on Oct. 1.
What's next
Commissioners Court meets Thursday, Aug. 13. The proposed budget is scheduled to be filed Aug. 31, with a first public hearing Sept. 9 and final adoption votes Sept. 10. Residents can attend or submit comments at those hearings.
