Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of the Budget Guidelines in accordance with the Strategic Plan in Action.
end
Background and Discussion:
Harris County Commissioners Court approved the County’s first-ever Strategic Plan on October 29th, 2024, to increase alignment between the County budget and Commissioners Court’s priorities and to better guide the work of County departments and partners.
On December 10, 2024, Commissioners Court approved the Strategic Plan in Action (SPIA) to enable successful implementation of the plan through better monitoring of progress and performance, more alignment between Court’s priorities and the County budget, and an improved process for helping departments operate more in line with the County’s Vision, Purpose, and Guiding Principles.
A key component of the SPIA is the development of updated Budget Guidelines, which Commissioners Court should consider and ultimately approve by no later than March of each year. According to the SPIA, the Budget Guidelines include the following:
• The County’s priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, including:
o Strategic Initiatives that are expected to be active during the upcoming fiscal year (including any new initiatives to be incorporated into the Strategic Plan, pending Court approval)
o Strategic Objectives of particular importance to the County for the upcoming fiscal year
o Operational Imperatives that should be emphasized during the upcoming fiscal year
o Rarely: Other activities beyond the Strategic Plan or the identified Operational Imperatives
• Desired outcomes and performance expectations for the above priorities for the upcoming fiscal year
o This will include any metrics (Community Indicators, Measurable Results, Key Performance Indicators) associated with the applicable Strategic Goal, Objective, and/or Initiative.
o For any Strategic Initiatives included as priorities, the budget guidelines might include an initial outline of a work plan for making progress on the initiative over the coming fiscal year.
• A budget proposal template based on OMB’s current template and updated to ensure that the template accounts for the Strategic Plan (and with any other adjustments as needed).
• A rubric for evaluating budget proposals that reflects the Decision Analysis Matrix (described in the next section below) and includes other relevant questions in accordance with budget proposal best practices.
Expected Impact:
Approval of the budget guidelines will allow for more alignment between Court’s priorities and the County budget.
Alternative Options:
No action on this item would slow progress on implementation of the Strategic Plan overall, including by putting at risk the integration of the Strategic Plan into the Fiscal Year 2026 budget process.
County Strategic Plan Goal: Choose an item.
County Strategic Plan Objective: Choose an item.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: The Budget Guidelines are a key component of the Strategic Plan in Action.
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
12/10/2024 |
28 |
Commissioners Court approved the Strategic Plan in Action |
|
10/29/2024 |
24 |
Commissioners Court approved the five-year Harris County Strategic Plan |
|
4/23/2024 |
30 |
Commissioners Court adopted the Strategic Framework as drafted and directed OCA to continue facilitating the next stages of this strategic planning process |
|
3/26/2024 |
29 |
Commissioners Court approved updates to the guidelines for Department Progress Meetings with Goal Area Committees |
|
12/19/2023 |
26 |
Commissioners Court approved the expenditure of $1,230,000.00 in funds under Job No. 21-0317 for the Agreement between Harris County and Ernst & Young LLP for facilitation and drafting of a multiyear countywide Strategic Plan. |
|
10/31/2023 |
15 |
Commissioners Court directed the Office of County Administration (OCA) to work with a Strategic Planning Committee comprised of one representative from each Commissioners Court office to conduct a two phased strategic planning process that substantially involves Commissioners Court members and department leadership and staff. The first phase, which should conclude no later than April 16, 2024, would result in a 5-year County Strategic Plan. The second phase, which should conclude no later than December 17, 2024, would result in departments that report through CA further developing their department-specific strategic direction and associated performance measures to align their work with the countywide strategic plan. Departments will be offered technical assistance to support this work. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 3/27/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator, Office of County Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Proposed Budget Guidelines