Commissioner Lesley Briones, who represents Precinct 4, has spent $223,000 of taxpayer money on billboards since January 2024. Records from the Harris County Auditor’s Office, obtained by 13 Investigates, show that every dollar was paid to a billboard company.
This season alone, billboards cropped up in 10 spots across Harris County Precinct 4. People described them as “hurricane preparedness”, and they bore the words “We are here to serve you!” plainly across the middle. Above those words sat “before,” “during,” and “after”, with weather symbols close by. On the left side of each billboard stood a photo of Briones, her name in capital letters beneath it, alongside contact details for Precinct 4.
The county faces a $181 million budget deficit.
Who Else Spent What
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia spent less than $1,200 in the same timeframe, with his office saying it was for local newspaper subscriptions. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis’s office spent around $300 under the county’s advertising contract, also related to the newspaper.
The county’s contract for advertising services was used by Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who spent $0 on it.
Briones’ predecessor, former Commissioner Jack Cagle, used county funds for billboards in 2022. That billboard had a photo of him with the words “Hello Neighbors, I’m your new county commissioner!” It included his name and contact information for his precinct. At the time Cagle put up the billboards, the county was not dealing with a budget deficit.
The County’s Explanation
Briones’ office spokesperson said “the public readiness educational campaign is an investment in our families’ safety; nothing matters more.”
How the Spending Breaks Down
| Precinct | Commissioner | Amount Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Precinct 4 | Lesley Briones | $223,000 |
| Precinct 2 | Adrian Garcia | Less than $1,200 |
| Precinct 1 | Rodney Ellis | Around $300 |
| Precinct 3 | Tom Ramsey | $0 |
The Question of Deficit
The $181 million budget deficit hangs over the entire comparison. Garcia and Ellis both found ways to keep their spending low. Ramsey spent nothing at all. Briones is the outlier, and she is spending at a scale that matches what her predecessor did when the county was not in deficit.
The difference between Cagle’s billboards and Briones’ is not ideological. It is arithmetic: Cagle put up his signs when the books were balanced; Briones is putting hers up now, when they are not.
The county auditor’s office has not publicly commented on the discrepancy between Precinct 4’s spending and the other three precincts. The records show the payments were made, but they do not explain the reasoning behind them.
What This Means for Taxpayers
Questions about how government funds get assigned come up with the spending. Some people say tax money should only go to core county services, not toward advertising campaigns that look like political messaging. The commissioner’s office says the billboards are part of a public readiness campaign.
The billboards are legal and free of corruption. Yet they are costly and eye-catching, and they arrive during a time when the county is confronting a substantial budget gap.
The next step is for the county to explain itself. The auditor’s records show the money was spent; the commissioner’s office has offered a defense. The public deserves to hear why the spending was necessary.
The billboards remain in place for the moment. Briones has already spent the funds, and the signs are up. What the public thinks about that choice will depend entirely on what happens from here on out.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs giving taxpayers real control over where their money goes if the wealthy pay more, and is against money vanishing into a budget nobody voted on line by line, so it takes no position on the billboards themselves but notes that every dollar paid to the billboard company came from taxpayer funds. The records from the Harris County Auditor’s Office show the payments were made, but they do not explain the reasoning behind them. The paper wants the county to answer that question directly, rather than letting the money disappear into a budget nobody voted on line by line.
The $181 million budget deficit hangs over the comparison, and the fact that Briones is spending at a scale matching her predecessor’s when the books were balanced is notable. The paper wants the reason explained, not just defended.
Source material: “Harris County commissioner spends $223k on billboards since 2024,” ABC13 Houston.
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