City of Houston Mayor John Whitmire was in the hot seat at this week’s City Council meeting where he admitted the city is in deep financial despair. The admission came during a nearly 3-hour discussion concerning Houston’s budget projections. Multiple councilmen and councilwomen questioned Whitmire and the City Attorney, Arturo Michel, about the lack of financial support in vital departments that affect the city’s structure. Whitmire stated, “I think we can all agree that we’re broke. Some of us inherited a broken system. I think this is the first time that we’re hearing clearly how broke we are. We’ve tried to be as transparent as the courts will allow. We’re broke.”
The statement “inheriting a broken system” was direct shade at previous Houston mayor Sylvester Turner. Although no longer in office, Turner has been receiving a storm of flack about decisions that have resulted in the city’s budget being disproportionately increased by $379M. The budget plan for 2024 includes a 3% pay raise for municipal and law enforcement workers, which will be the police department’s third pay raise in three years. There’s a $650M deal with the Firefighters union that promises a 6% pay raise for local firefighters. $500,000 has been designated to BARC for (screenshots) and another $500,000 is to be used towards criminal cases that were closed before technology advancements allotted DNA testing as evidence.
Whitmire stood firm on his complete support of the fire fighters and police department.
“Certainly as we ask the public for more funding for public safety that would include EMS and equipment and what you need around the department. You know what, you’re talking about being transparent, we need to be really honest with the public. For the last eight years there hasn’t been a fire department that performs at the level that we need. Response time is growing. I think we can document it and I’ve suggested documenting the loss of life, the times EMS delayed to get to heart attack victims. Nothing is more important than resolving public safety concerns. We can’t have a great city without having a great fire department or a great police department.”
Councilmembers agreed on the importance of having sustainable public safety, but also urged Mayor Whitmire to consider the same level of solution-based action towards other factors that affect the city: lack of livable wages for essential workers, accessible childcare for working families, the state of public water, road improvements and lack of affordable housing. Councilwoman Kamin stated how the city has lost over five hundred child care centers since COVID and how she believes accessible childcare is a priority that plays a direct role in the city’s ability to stay financially afloat. “Childcare is an essential service that drives our economy. Without childcare we cannot have a thriving Houston economy.”
Houstonians fear new tax laws and higher toll road fees may be eminent, ensuring the Mayor’s priorities in the police and fire departments are fulfilled without any improvement in other matters that the people of the City of Houston genuinely in need. Councilwoman Thomas spoke firmly against taxing citizens and suggested Mayor Whitmire create new revenue streams to reach his personal goals for Houston’s budget plans, or even possibly selling some of the thousands of valuable pieces of artwork the city owns.
Houston’s average annual revenue is nearly $2B with the majority of that coming from aviation. Last June, the City of Houston approved a $2.5B budget to expand Houston’s airports as a long-term solution for generating more revenue, along with increasing taxes over the next five to ten years. Jim Szczesniak, Director of Airport Systems, spoke confidently of this opportunity being a great idea that will create over three thousand new jobs and better efficiency to accommodate a larger number of travelers, therefore making the city more money. However, not many people were on board with the idea of the city investing billions in an airport and police and firemen salaries when the city is borderline facing bankruptcy.
Councilwoman Thomas made a statement in support of leveraging more than just the police and fire departments. “District workers, I’m keeping them in mind. Of course we want to invest in fire, but we don’t yet have a five year financial picture. We don’t have yet the negotiating request of police and municipal workers when we have the same issues in solid waste. It’s the same things. We have to invest in our infrastructure both ways.”
It was obvious that Whitmire is firm down on the majority of the city’s budget going towards ideas that fit his campaign promises more so than those that fit the public’s immediate concerns. The meeting ended with a conclusory response from the Mayor that further solidified his beliefs, “Thank you for your passions. If we don’t get additional resources and we keep putting items like this on the ballot, we have a heck of a problem. April 1st I’ll get everyone’s input. There are a lot of great programs and services that if we don’t have enough additional revenue, we just won’t be able to continue. In fact, I would suggest with the $160 million shortfall that we started the year with, we’re already in a dilemma. So as we speak with a ;passion about city services, we need to speak with a passion about being broke.”
The finance director will meet with the city attorney over financial implications at the first meeting on April 2nd.
