Harris County residents urge commissioners, county judge to work together to reduce budget deficit

Screenshot/Harris County Commissioners Court

As Harris County commissioners race against the clock to bridge a projected budget deficit, residents on Tuesday urged the county’s top elected officials to set their differences aside — including their disagreements about the extent of the deficit.

The messaging comes as Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and a group of commissioners she deemed the “GOP 3” — even though two of them are Democrats like Hidalgo — elevated conflicting accounts of the budget deficit both in a series of news conferences before and during a nearly 12-hour commissioners court meeting on Tuesday.

While commissioners say they’ve found avenues for trimming the deficit down to about $48 million, Hidalgo said she’s not ready to pop champagne just yet, citing the projecte