Houston officials never gave $20 million for drainage

Residents of some of Houston’s most flood-prone neighborhoods are wondering what happened to the $20 million that city officials earmarked for drainage projects during last year’s budget process.

While they got a consolation prize Wednesday after the City Council agreed to provide an additional $8 million for the city’s local drainage projects, residents and some City Council members are pressing to find out where that went money from last year’s budget.

“It’s a drop in the ocean compared to the $20 million approved last year, which ultimately disappeared,” said Fred Woods, president of the Northwood Manor Civic Club. “But the fact that the city council has acknowledged its failure to fund the PDLs is a glimmer of hope for the community.”

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The missing funds remained a mystery even to some city officials, like Councilman Edward Pollard, who supported the amendment.

“If we say we’re going to do something, we have to do it.” Pollard said. “This money should have been there, but it’s obvious it’s not.”

Pollard said they have yet to receive a clear explanation as to where the missing money is.

A Houston Public Works spokeswoman, Erin Jones, said the department never received the additional $20 million intended for the drainage program. Instead, she said they received a fixed allocation of money for drainage which was primarily used to fund the roadside ditch restoration program.

This program was unveiled at the same meeting then-Mayor Sylvester Turner approved an amendment to the FY 2024 budget intended to specifically fund the city’s local drainage projects.

“There’s been a lot of confusion about this,” said Councilwoman Sallie Alcorn. “There was already $20 million in the budget to handle ditch restoration, and that $20 million from Councilman Jackson’s previous amendment was to go to the LDPs.”

Woods, whose family has lived in northeast Houston for nearly 100 years, said the area has been marginalized for generations. The area has historically been home to some of Houston’s oldest black and brown communities. As a result, he says, they have been historically underserved.

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“The government has not worked for us. Government is something that happened to us historically,” Woods said. “I can’t mention one thing that’s going well. From the Fifth Ward Cancer Group, what’s going on with the Houston Independent School District takeover, crime, unaffordable housing, or just lack of housing in general.

Woods said many residents of northeast Houston are elderly and others have families to support. In addition to the direct damage caused by repeated flooding, water has led to other expenses that have further strained the region’s limited resources. Rising flood insurance costs, compounded by the effects of inflation, have left the community in a dire situation.

Woods said the city has ignored them for generations. Officials have consistently chosen to spend money in other areas of Houston, leaving the Northeast to fend for itself, he said.

“They chose to invest elsewhere because they had connections, because they were wealthier, because they had more resources,” Woods said. “It was a deliberate choice. Where you put your money is where your priority is.

For Woods and other area residents, Wednesday’s vote to fund drainage infrastructure represents a small, symbolic victory in a much larger battle.

“When we show up and speak with one voice on the city council and we feel heard and seen, that means something,” Woods said. “To me it means that what we are doing is worth it and that we must continue. We can’t stop now.