Tarrant County should elect people who have a business-minded approach to government, Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare said during his State of the County address on Thursday.
O’Hare spoke to hundreds of business owners, elected officials and others during the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon, laying out what he said the county — and its cities — should prioritize to keep Tarrant growing as a business hub.
“We need business-minded people elected to seats throughout the county, whether it’s county government, whether it’s school board, whether it’s city government, whether it’s state House, state Senate, whatever the case may be — we need people who bring a business-minded perspective,” he said.
Low taxes, limited regulation and low crime are also necessary to attract companies to the area, O’Hare said.
“A challenge for Tarrant County and for all of our cities is to get more of these corporate relocations and job expansions happening in Tarrant County,” he said. “That benefits all of us.”
A ‘business-minded approach’ to government
O’Hare said low taxes are key to attracting new residents and businesses to the county, which grew by about 700,000 between 2000 and 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
County commissioners are considering a lower property tax rate for the next fiscal year, the third reduction since O’Hare entered office. The city of Fort Worth’s draft budget includes lowering the property tax by 25 cents — continuing a 30-year trend of lowering taxes — but an increase in some service fees.
When government entities cut taxes that lead to revenue drops, O’Hare said they must be business-minded in budgeting, which might entail cutting services or outsourcing to private companies.
“You cannot meet every single need of every single person that you perceive is out there,” he said.
The county has cut $58 million from the budget since he entered office in January 2023, he said.
In an interview with the Report after the speech, O’Hare said a recent example of this was the elimination of the county’s Department of Human Services. That department offers rental and utility assistance to people in need. The county instead will give $2 million to outside organizations, which have not yet been named, to provide such services.
In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Human Services cost $2.5 million to run and spent about $1 million in county funding for direct aid, according to county data. Opponents of the shutdown argued that human services should be given a chance to fix problems before being outsourced.
“There’s very little that government does better than private business,” O’Hare said. “Whether that private business is for-profit, nonprofit, if there is a way to find people in the community that can provide the service to meet the need, that’s always something we look at.”
On Aug. 19, two days before the luncheon, O’Hare voted with fellow Republican commissioners to cut more than 100 Election Day voting centers for the November election — a move county officials estimated would save about $1 million.
O’Hare told reporters the cut was a “smart, prudent decision” because fewer people turn out to vote in odd-yeared elections than in presidential elections and midterms.
Both the cuts to human services and voting centers drew outcry from residents. About 40 people spoke against the reduction of polling places, saying it unfairly suppressed the votes of predominantly Black, Hispanic and college-aged communities.
Also at the State of the County, O’Hare said city governments should eliminate more regulations, which he said makes it easier for people to do business.
“In Tarrant County, and I include all of our cities, we can do better at making it known that this is a place where you want to relocate your business.”
O’Hare spent the rest of the State of the County interviewing Sheriff Bill Waybourn, District Attorney Phil Sorrells and County Clerk Mary Louise Nicholson. Over about 45 minutes, the four discussed their personal lives, their roles in the county and what they see as their greatest achievements.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601.
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