Houston City Council delays vote on budget and HFD regulations

The Houston City Council on Wednesday delayed a vote on a high-profile package of ordinances that includes next year’s budget and a massive financial deal with the Houston Fire Department.

The delays, triggered by a combination of council member motions and City Comptroller Chris Hollins’ decision to withhold certification of the $1.5 billion deal with the firefighters’ union, came as Mayor John Whitmire is fighting to meet the July 1 deadline. The city charter requires the comptroller to certify the availability of funding for ordinances prior to a council vote committing the city to future financial obligations.

Whitmire will try again at the June 12 council meeting, where members will also have the opportunity to propose amendments to the mayor’s proposed $6.7 billion budget.

The annual budget vote is typically one of the most anticipated council meetings of the year. Not only are mayors’ financial proposals put to the test, but members also have the opportunity to try to secure funding for their own priorities.

Last year, former Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a last-minute plan to fund ditch and drainage projects after facing a pressure campaign from activists based in northeast Houston . This year, these activists are pressuring Whitmire to follow through on his campaign promise to strengthen flood control infrastructure.

Whitmire has his own priority: the sweeping deal with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, whose members have operated without a contract since 2017. Whitmire and the firefighters union say the deal will right a long-standing wrong while allowing HFD, who has difficulty responding quickly to calls, swelling their ranks.

A group of board members questioned both the cost of the deal — it would drain much of Turner’s remaining $450 million-plus balance — and its effect on HFD’s operations through changes major and non-financial contributions made to the firefighters’ contract.

Hollins told the council Wednesday that he received the proposed five-year collective bargaining agreement with the union only Monday afternoon, leaving him little time to evaluate its financial implications. He declined to certify funding for the order authorizing the settlement.

“It’s my responsibility – at a base level – to understand what’s going on before I present it to you,” Hollins said.

Separately, Council Member At-Large Sallie Alcorn “tagged” the ordinance approving the FY 2025 budget, automatically postponing consideration until next week.

In another development, the council unanimously approved without debate a proposal from District J council member Edward Pollard and four other council members to facilitate the installation of speed cushions.

Council members have long expressed frustration with their attempts to respond to neighborhood complaints about speeding getting bogged down in Department of Public Works red tape.

Pollard’s ordinance was the first proposed under Proposition A, the charter amendment that allows three council members to add items to an agenda, to be adopted. The ordinance was co-sponsored by Tiffany Thomas, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Fred Flickinger and Tarsha Jackson.
Last year, another proposed measure under Proposition A to change water billing practices was incorporated by Mayor Sylvester Turner into a larger package that won council approval.

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