“The reason I came back was because of the people. The people need their jobs. Precinct 1 and Precinct 2 need representation,” Roderick Miles, Jr. said.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Tarrant County commissioners approved the county’s $825 million budget Monday, but not without more signs of division on the court.
During public comment, longtime resident Sandra Cooley voiced frustration over the tension among elected leaders.
“Every time I come down here, I pay $10 bucks to park,” Cooley said.
The 69-year-old Texas native shared with WFAA that she purposely addressed them as if she were their mother because of the behavior she has witnessed during the commissioner’s court.
“Tired of all the division, tired of people on the court not being able to work together,” she added.
Monday’s special-called meeting came after last week’s meeting failed to move forward due to a lack of quorum. Commissioner Alisa Simmons intentionally skipped that meeting to block the vote, while her fellow Democrat, Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr., was recovering at home after becoming sick at the time.
This time, Miles returned to ensure a quorum and to head off retaliation from his republican counterparts. Nevertheless, after Miles explained his absence from the previous meeting during an emotionally charged speech, Commissioners Matt Krause and Many Ramirez shared with Miles that they are open to working with him, so all constituents are served across Tarrant County.
“I’m thrilled Commissioner Miles was here today so we could vote on tax cuts,” said Commissioner Matt Krause, Precinct 3.
Simmons was absent again on Monday, saying she was attending a funeral.
Breaking quorum a second time would have come with consequences for Simmons, Miles, and their staff. County Judge Tim O’Hare had amendments on the table that included deep cuts to the budgets of precincts 1 and 2, both represented by Democrats.
“The number of administrative positions is reduced to one for each of the offices of commissioner for precinct one and commissioner for precinct two,” O’Hare said.
Miles said that was a key reason why he showed up despite his recent illness.
“The reason I came back was because of the people,” Miles said. “The people need their jobs. Precinct 1 and Precinct 2 need representation.”
O’Hare said the strategy worked.
“If you want to play games with people’s money, okay, two can play that game. And so it brought one Democrat back to the table,” he said.
Also at issue was funding for JPS Health Network, the county’s public hospital system.
“I don’t think this is a time to take them below what they asked for,” said Fort Worth community leader Dionne Sims.
As one of the most recognized voices in Tarrant County, Sims told WFAA she is concerned about the public hospital’s services outgrowing the needs if the area’s future economics forces more residents to JPS for indigent care.
“In support of the new tax rate, I appreciate the conservative nature achieved in reducing our taxes,” added resident Dana Cappelletti.
The Tarrant County 2026 fiscal budget is 167 pages:
https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/budget-risk-mgmt/Documents/fy26/FY26_Budget_Hierarchy_Online.pdf
In the end, the budget passed — but the divisions remain.
“I would love nothing more than to get along with everyone,” O’Hare said.
Cooley left commissioners with a reminder that many in the community share.
“Can’t we all just get along?” she said.
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