A proposal to raise pay for about 220 employees of The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD goes before Harris County Commissioners Court at its budget adoption hearing Thursday morning, the Houston Press reported.
The proposal, put forward by Commissioner Lesley Briones, would apply a 6 percent increase to bring Harris Center staff to the county’s $20 an hour living wage standard, worth roughly $200 a month per worker. Harris Center employees are not county employees, although commissioners appoint the center’s board, and they were left out when the county adopted the $20 policy last year.
Nothing is settled until commissioners vote. The item sits inside the same 2026-27 budget adoption that carries the county tax rate. The Harris Center is the mental health authority serving Harris County, which includes Kingwood, and its clinics and crisis services are available to residents across the county.
