Turner drops tax hike after Abbott hands him $50M check for Harvey recovery

Gov. Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Gov. Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Photo: Chronicle File Photo: Chronicle File Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Turner drops tax hike after Abbott hands him $50M check for Harvey recovery 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday said he would withdraw a proposed property tax rate hike after Gov. Greg Abbott handed him a check for $50 million to help fund the city's recovery from Hurricane Harvey.

The exchange came as the mayor and governor held a joint City Hall news conference, a sharp departure from the last several days when the pair had traded letters and criticism over each other's Harvey response.

Turner had tried to pin his proposed tax hike on the state's unwillingness to tap its $10 billion savings account, while state officials viewed the city as seeking a blank check rather than targeting specific emergency funds in the state budget.

Ultimately, Abbott said he would draw upon a disaster fund within the discretion of his office, producing the $50 million amount Turner had intended to collect from residents' property taxes.

The mayor initially had announced a one-year, 8.9 percent tax rate hike, aimed at producing about $110 million next year, then cut that proposal roughly in half when federal officials agreed to increase their contribution to the Harvey recovery.

"Whenever there are shortfalls we're going to be there, prepared to assist our communities. Make sure they're going to be able to rebuild as quickly as possible," Abbott said. "Achieving the best result is going to require the very same resolve that Texans have shown up to this point, and that is Texans helping Texans, working together for the greater good of everybody in our great state."