Coverage of Houston city government: City Council votes, the mayor’s office, the city budget, tax increment reinvestment zones, and the ordinances that decide what residents pay for. Attributed, linked, and written for people who do not have time to sit through a five hour council meeting.
Houston posted the Proposition A ballot language three days before early voting. The charter text defines the banned warrants by a 15 second wait and requires a five year marijuana enforcement audit.
Council approved about $31.1 million of road, drainage and sewer work. The consent decree behind two of the three items covers $2 billion over 15 years, and the clock started in April 2021.
About $63 million of the $88 million is property tax revenue the city no longer expects. The same finance director reported a $52.6 million miss a year ago under the same flat rate.
Houston City Council kept the city property tax rate at 51.9190 cents Wednesday, a third straight year. The city’s own notice form shows the last flat rate raised the average bill $80.01.
Demolition started Tuesday on 80 acres of the former Greenspoint Mall. The City of Houston and the Greater Greenspoint tax increment zone are putting in $15 million of the $150 million project.
Chris Hollins says the October 7 council vote is null and void because his office never certified it. He cites two city charter sections. The mayor says the city does not need him.
Council authorized listing 1200 Travis and 611 Walker on Wednesday. The nearly $1 billion repair estimate behind the sale is one department’s, with no appraisal published.
Houston announced the $48 million Pathway to Independence fund on October 7 with $34 million raised. It runs three years, buys no new shelter spaces, and partners say they will consider local tax dol
Bellaire approved a guaranteed maximum price of about $8.22 million on October 5 for its Glenmont Drive public works renovation. The city borrowed $8.7 million for the work and $7 million earlier to
The rate increase costs the average homestead about $8 a year. The reserve draw is 62 percent of the opening fund balance and equals the gap between recurring revenue and appropriations exactly.
Bellaire adopted the same rate it charged last year. Values rose 4.80 percent, so the bill on the average home rises about $174 anyway.
Houston withdrew its nearly $150 million Justice Department application Monday. The mayor says staff filed it before council voted. The federal deadline had passed 34 days earlier.