Texas lawmakers are scrutinizing the Upper Guadalupe River Authority’s decision to use a funding surplus to lower property taxes rather than improve flood warning systems.
The local river authority covers only Kerr County, the region hardest hit by the deadly July 4 floods. As first reported Wednesday in the Houston Chronicle, the agency had $3.4 million in reserves but spent only $100,000 of it on flood warning upgrades. Most of the funds went to cut the property tax it levies in order to manage the river.
The river authority also declined in 2024 to pursue an offer from the Texas Water Development Board to apply for a $50,000 grant and a $950,000 zero-interest loan to pay for upgrades to the flood warning systems.
Lawmakers lambasted the authority Wednesday for what they characterized as misplaced priorities.
