RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Major road and flood control projects could be delayed, Fort Bend County employees will lose proposed cost-of-living adjustments, and the county's financial recovery could take years if Commissioners Court fails to obtain the four-member quorum required to adopt this year's tax rate, county financial officials warned Tuesday.
The warnings came during a public budget workshop as Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage continued their boycott of Commissioners Court meetings, leaving the court without the four-member quorum required under Texas law to approve the county's annual tax rate.
Pamela Gubbels, Fort Bend County's Director of Finance and Investments, who oversees the county's budget process, told Commissioners Court that while most county business can continue with three members present, state law requires a four-member quorum to adopt the county's tax rate.
Without that quorum, the county would automatically operate under the lower of its current tax rate or the no-new-revenue tax rate. Gubbels said that would require spending reductions, including eliminating the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 cost-of-living adjustments for county employees.
During the budget workshop, Interim County Judge Daniel Wong and Commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales reached a public consensus that elected county officials should not receive cost-of-living adjustments in the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget if county employees do not receive theirs.
Budget workshop focused on department priorities
Tuesday's meeting was not limited to discussion of the quorum issue. For much of the budget workshop, department directors presented their proposed budgets, explained funding requests and answered questions from Commissioners Court as part of the county's annual budget review process.
McCoy and Prestage were not present to hear those presentations firsthand or participate in those discussions.
No vote on the proposed budget or tax rate was taken Tuesday. Instead, county financial officials used the end of the workshop to explain the financial consequences they said would result if the court cannot obtain the four-member quorum required for the upcoming tax-rate vote.
County Auditor Ed Sturdivant delivered the workshop's final presentation, warning that the consequences would extend well beyond employee compensation.
Financial recovery could take years
Sturdivant said operating under the default tax rate would create financial consequences that could affect county government for years.
"If you do have to revert to the default tax rate, whether that's thirteen million, fifteen million, or twenty-one million drop, you will not be able to recover from that in one year," Sturdivant told Commissioners Court. "It will take multiple years, as many as five years, before you can get back to where you were while still meeting the needs of the demands for services and for the county."
He also warned that the county's recovery could become even more difficult because he expects the Texas Legislature to further tighten restrictions on local government revenue during next year's legislative session.
"That is a very strong possibility that we should expect revenue cap legislation to have a greater constraint after this next session starts next year," Sturdivant said.
Infrastructure projects depend on continued bond financing
Sturdivant said the county is preparing approximately $120 million in bonds for road and mobility projects and another $30 million in bonds for park projects, along with other debt issuances needed to continue capital projects already underway.
Like most growing counties, Fort Bend finances major infrastructure projects over many years instead of paying the entire cost upfront. As the county makes scheduled payments on existing bond debt, it periodically issues new bonds to finance additional road, flood control, park and other capital projects. Sturdivant said the next round of bond sales cannot move forward without the required quorum, meaning existing bond funds would eventually be exhausted with no way to replenish them.
Without approval of the next round of bonds, funding currently being used to build roads, improve drainage and flood control, expand parks and complete other capital projects would eventually be depleted, forcing those projects to slow or stop until new financing can be authorized.
Sturdivant said that if it becomes apparent the county will be unable to obtain the quorum needed to authorize those bond sales, work on the bond issuances would have to stop and county engineering and parks staff would have to prepare to pause mobility and parks projects once existing funding is exhausted.
In practical terms, county-funded road improvements, park projects and other capital projects, including flood control, would be delayed as existing funding is exhausted because the county would be unable to authorize the new debt needed to continue them.
Sturdivant said every member of Commissioners Court, including McCoy and Prestage, had been informed of the potential consequences.
"It's important that all of you know it, and even Commissioner Prestage and Commissioner McCoy have been made aware of what I just shared with you," he said. "All members of Commissioners Court are aware."
Fort Bend County
Interim County Judge Daniel Wong presiding over the Fort Bend County budget hearings on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Meyers urges commissioners to return
Commissioner Andy Meyers said Tuesday night that McCoy and Prestage have acknowledged the financial consequences outlined during the budget workshop but have nevertheless indicated they intend to continue their boycott.
"I am disappointed that Commissioners Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy have publicly acknowledged the financial harm their continued boycott of Commissioners Court will cause Fort Bend County employees and taxpayers, yet they have made clear they intend to continue anyway," Meyers said in a statement posted on Facebook.
"County employees should not lose their cost-of-living adjustments, and taxpayers should not suffer the consequences of a political boycott. The solution is simple: show up, do the job the voters elected you to do, and let Commissioners Court work."
Commissioners explain their position
McCoy and Prestage maintain that their absence is not a protest over the proposed budget itself but over the pending legal challenge involving County Judge Daniel Wong's authority to continue presiding over Commissioners Court.
In a jointly released video Tuesday, McCoy acknowledged that failure to adopt the county's tax rate could jeopardize employee cost-of-living adjustments, reduce county services, delay infrastructure investments and potentially affect the county's AAA bond rating.
"The issue is not a disagreement about the budget itself," McCoy said. "The issue is the unresolved legal uncertainty surrounding Mr. Wong's authority to preside over Commissioners Court while that question is still before the courts."
Prestage said he and McCoy would return to Commissioners Court if Wong steps aside while the courts resolve the legal dispute.
As of Tuesday, no court had ruled that Wong lacks the authority to continue serving as county judge. County financial officials testified that, regardless of the underlying legal dispute, the immediate issue is obtaining the four-member quorum required by state law to adopt the county's annual tax rate.
Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage
Fort Bend County Commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage released this video Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, laying out the conditions they said must be met before they will return to Commissioners Court.
Budget deadlines approaching
Commissioners Court is scheduled Aug. 13 to propose a tax rate and set the public hearings required before adoption of the budget and tax rate. Gubbels said the proposed budget is scheduled to be filed Aug. 31, followed by the first public hearing Sept. 9. Final public hearings, adoption of the 2026 tax rate and approval of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget are scheduled for Sept. 10.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding whether a four-member quorum will be available, Gubbels said portions of the budget calendar were moved forward to preserve enough time to republish legally required notices if necessary.
"I'm going to keep hoping for the best and that we will have a quorum on September 10, and we will have this all taken care of on that date," Gubbels said.
Unless four commissioners are present to adopt the county's tax rate before the statutory deadline, Gubbels and Sturdivant testified the county will automatically operate under the lower default tax rate established by state law. Under that scenario, proposed cost-of-living adjustments for county employees would be eliminated, major transportation, flood control, parks and other capital projects would be delayed, and county finances could take as long as five years to recover.
Despite the uncertainty, Wong said the county will continue preparing for adoption of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
"Things we cannot control, we cannot control, but we have the plan," Wong said. "We're going to continue to plan for having this budget passed."
Judge Wong's comments reflected the county's effort to prepare for either outcome—adoption of the budget if a quorum is achieved, or implementation of the contingency plan required under state law if it is not.
Editor's Note: Covering Katy News is owned by Dennis Spellman, who authored this article and also serves as Manager of Media Relations for Fort Bend County Precinct 3. This story was reported and written independently by Covering Katy News using testimony presented during a public Commissioners Court meeting, publicly available budget documents, and publicly released statements from the parties involved. Editorial decisions regarding the content of this story were made independently by Covering Katy News and were not subject to review or approval by any county official or outside party.
Understanding local government
Covering Katy News reviews public records, budget documents, court filings and meeting testimony to explain not only what government officials decide, but what those decisions mean for taxpayers and the communities they serve. If you value independent local journalism that provides context, accountability and deeper reporting—not just headlines—please consider becoming a subscriber. Your support makes this work possible. SUBSCRIBE HERE