On Oct. 16, federal, state and local leaders met to discuss future collaboration on regional flood mitigation projects during a meeting closed to the public but open to the media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a glance<\/p>\n
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, as well as elected leaders from the state House, state Senate, the City of Houston, Harris County and Montgomery County were in attendance. It marked the third cross-jurisdictional meeting held to address the region\u2019s infrastructure needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
State Rep. Steve Toth, who hosted the meeting in northwest Harris County, said the goal was to open a dialogue among the agencies and encourage them to work together to bring more resources to the region, which has experienced severe flooding.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us here don\u2019t need to be reminded of what\u2019s at stake,\u201d Toth said.<\/p>\n
Hurricane Harvey hit the region in August 2017, causing \u201ccatastrophic drainage issues\u201d and severe flooding throughout the Houston metro area, according to the National Weather Service<\/a>. The region has since worked to complete various flood mitigation projects designed to decrease flood risk during periods of heavy rainfall.\u00a0<\/p>\n The discussion<\/p>\n Houston city council member Twila Carter said the group\u2019s emphasis needs to be on mitigating flood risk before a disaster comes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCollaboration is key, but accountability is answerability,\u201d Carter said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got to really have measurable commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n Montgomery County Commissioner Ritch Wheeler said funding for flood mitigation projects can be challenging because the county relies on property taxes and doesn\u2019t have access to other revenue sources like sales taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is difficult to invest in projects while working to keep property taxes stable, Montgomery County Commissioner Matt Gray said. The Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved<\/a> a slight property tax increase in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the same financial vehicles to get that engineering completed to get them shovel-ready,\u201d Gray said.\u00a0<\/p>\n John Garvin, the FEMA deputy division director, said that for jurisdictions to be competitive applicants for FEMA grants, predictable projects are best.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you talk about doing that work ahead of time\u2014having these projects on the shelf\u2014the competitiveness of that project will be the predictability factor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n