Press Room

Commissioner Garcia's Concerns over HART Vendor

“Let me be abundantly clear. I support the HART (Holistic Assistance Response Team) program. I always have, as evidenced by multiple votes to create, maintain, and expand the program. As the only former cop on Commissioners Court, I know from firsthand experience that trained non-law enforcement professionals are best suited to respond to certain non-violent incidents.

What I will never support is a single taxpayer dollar being used to pay for potential fraud. There are too many red flags from the contractor’s work both in California and here in Harris County to ignore. Additionally, it is not acceptable to risk using taxpayer dollars to a company that: 

1) is accused of mismanagement and double-billing

2) has yet to deliver on the promise of 24-7 coverage

3) has not paid employees raising concerns of wage theft and forcing them to walk off the job

4) has several other questionable practices alleged in a series of news reports over the last year

A vote to not pay a highly questionable invoice at Commissioners Court did not end the HART program. The county department that oversees the contractor and program effectively is solely responsible for the pause. A failure to plan is a plan to fail, and county" departments should never cede all control of our programs to any contractor without oversight and supervision. The fact that no alternative was ready despite ample evidence that a backup might be needed is the only reason HART is not still operational at this time.

“I look forward to taking action on the next steps forward so that HART can resume (and possibly even expand) as soon as possible.”