City of Houston budget approved, focused on improving public safety, infrastructure and drainage – Houston Public Media

The Houston City Council approved its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The approved budget is $6.7 billion, with a general fund of $3 billion, from which city services such as public safety agencies, trash collection and libraries come. Half of the general fund will go to the Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department – ​​$1 billion for the HDP and $593 for the HFD.

At this week’s City Council meeting, council members reviewed more than 50 amendments they submitted to the budget that Mayor John Whitmire first proposed last month. The mayor supported less than a quarter of their suggestions which were supported by the mayor and adopted by the city council.

“It’s a good budget that focuses on public safety, drainage infrastructure, things we get asked about,” Whitmire said. “Generators, how can you vote against generators for seniors not only during cold spells but also during hot spells. This budget provides for that.”

The budget funds more than 21,000 city employees: 10,000 police officers and firefighters and 11,000 municipal employees.

One of the amendments approved by the City Council will fund a local drainage program, adding $8 million to the city’s general fund. This was presented by Council Member Tarsha Jackson and supported by several others, including Council Members Amy Peck and Abbie Kamin.

Several community members were at City Hall for the drainage discussion and applauded when the City Council voted to approve the item. As council members discussed the amendment, members of the Northeast Action Collective held up a sign in the back of the room that read, “When our streets flood, we flood the streets.”

Another accepted amendment, authored by Council Member Julian Ramirez, authorizes funding to create a sixth cadet class for the Houston Police Department.

Additionally, an amendment proposed by Council Member Letitia Plummer, which secured funding for a generator for the Kashmere Gardens Resilience Hub, was adopted.

The two council members who voted against the project were Tiffany Thomas and Edward Pollard.

“The reason I can’t support the budget is because we’re spending more than we’re bringing in, okay?” Pollard told the city council. “And I don’t think that’s financially viable for a business.”

He pointed out that even though the budget spends more than last year, the mayor’s budget does not bring new sources of revenue to the city. Although there was discussion that Whitmire would raise property taxes or impose trash fees, he did neither.

“All we are doing is expanding our structurally unbalanced budget,” Pollard said.

Councilmember Joaquin Martinez pointed out that the city has been running a deficit for decades.

“It’s important to clarify that this is nothing new, we have closed a deficit of over $100 million since the revenue cap,” Martinez said.

The budget would come into effect on July 1.