Who is Houston controller Chris Hollins?

Comptroller Chris Hollins won the race for Houston’s second-highest job in December 2023, taking the helm as the city’s chief financial officer at a time when the city faces a series of looming fiscal challenges.

NEW CONTROLLER: Comptroller Chris Hollins vows to ‘sound the alarm’ while auditing city inefficiencies

Here’s everything you need to know about the new controller.

In Houston’s “strong mayor” system, where the mayor oversees most municipal affairs, the comptroller serves as the city’s financial watchdog and helps protect its financial health. The office’s duties include processing city payments, managing investments, and writing monthly and annual reports on the city’s financial condition.

The comptroller does not have the power to change policies, but can audit city services and programs to highlight problems and offer recommendations.

It can also indirectly influence the decisions of the municipal council. For example, former Comptroller Chris Brown delayed a $150 million funding vote for weeks by refusing to certify the availability of funds for the renovation of Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This led to repeated public clashes with former Mayor Sylvester Turner. When Hollins took office, he also initially blocked the proposal, but ultimately approved the funding.

Hollins, 37, is a personal injury attorney and former Harris County clerk. As county clerk, he introduced drive-thru and 24-hour voting and managed the county’s voting system during the contentious 2020 presidential election. He also hosted a number of events to get out the vote, including the “Giddy Up to the Polls” mini-trail, which contributed to record early voting turnout that year.

In last year’s municipal elections, Hollins initially ran for mayor, but dropped out in April after U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announced her own mayoral bid. Hollins turned his attention to the comptroller race and defeated former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez, 59.1 percent to 40.9 percent, in a December runoff election.

Hollins sounded the alarm about Houston’s budget deficit in the weeks leading up to the ongoing budget discussions.

BUDGET DEFICIT: Comptroller Hollins projects budget shortfall of more than $230 million next year following fire settlement

One of the financial challenges he focused on was the historic $1.5 billion settlement between the city and the firefighters union. The deal includes $650 million in back payments. As Whitmire’s administration plans to issue a court bond to spread the cost of back wages, its financial impact could affect the city’s budget for two to three decades to come.

At a public information meeting in early May, the comptroller said the city could have saved hundreds of millions of dollars in back payments. If Houston had matched firefighters’ hourly wages to the average rates in Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas, the backlog would amount to only about half of the $650 million currently considered, according to its analysis .

ANALYSIS OF FIREFIGHTERS’ SALARY: Houston Could Have Spent Hundreds of Millions Less on Back Firefighter Salaries, Hollins Says

The report drew sharp criticism from Marty Lancton, president of the firefighters union, who accused Hollins of politicizing the issue and said the comptroller’s hypothetical scenarios did not accurately represent the union’s legal position.

Hollins defended his presentation.

“My role as city comptroller is to provide the Houston City Council and the public with objective information about how Houston taxpayer dollars are used,” he told the Chronicle. “We will continue to have an open discussion on issues that have major fiscal impacts on the city and its residents. »

During his campaign, Hollins pledged to close Houston’s budget deficit by aggressively auditing city operations and proactively sharing best practices with city officials.

He said last year he would take a close look at tax increment reinvestment zones, the drainage fund and Houston’s permitting center, all of which have come under scrutiny. However, it has not yet revealed when and how it plans to review these operations.

As officials review Houston’s proposed new spending plan for the fiscal year beginning in July, Hollins requested an $864,000 funding increase to bolster the audit team. He says the team’s work could easily offset costs by identifying savings and eliminating inefficiencies in other areas of Houston’s spending.

“You have this guarantee from me. If you were to approve this, and we haven’t identified it, you could take it out of my budget next year, no questions asked,” Hollins told the City Council during a recent budget hearing.

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Hollins also promised to prioritize rebuilding trust between voters and city leaders by making municipal finances more transparent. He requested more resources – $360,000 for the next fiscal year and $200,000 per year after that – to create an improved platform where residents can access accurate information about the city’s finances.

“Our work must be open to public scrutiny,” he said. “We should drive out corruption and expose disinformation. »