Tag Archives: Houston City Council

City passes Mayor Turner’s final budget

Get ready, whoever is up next. Houston city staff will see pay raises, money will go toward sidewalk repairs and residents won’t have to maintain their own drainage ditches anymore. All are part of the $6.2 billion budget that passed through Houston … Continue reading

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A trio of candidate announcements

From the inbox: Molly Cook, Emergency Room Nurse and Community Organizer, Announces Second Run for Texas Senate District 15 Molly Cook (she/her) is running again for Texas Senate District 15 in the 2024 Elections. Since the primaries in March 2022, … Continue reading

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Mayor Turner’s final budget

This is what he’s handing off. Mayor Sylvester Turner will unveil a $6.2 billion budget proposal this week, the final spending plan of his tenure and one he predicts will have enough savings to cover his successor’s first budget gap. … Continue reading

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Houston’s violent crime rate drops in 2023

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday touted his crime initiative as the reason behind a double-digit year-to-year reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2023, but experts say the figures mirror wider national trends and warned … Continue reading

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There are a lot of people running for office in Houston already

If you regularly check the houstonchronicle.com page, you may have noticed this article continuing to appear, even though it was originally published last November. The reason for this is that they are tracking who has officially filed for office, and … Continue reading

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The benefits of going fine-free

I love this story. Two months ago, a Houston resident walked into the city’s public library and returned three long-overdue books from the 1990s. The trio of the returned books included “Tenth Dimension” by Jeremy Bernstein on elementary particle physics, … Continue reading

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Houston rescinds its anti-busking ordinance

Good call. Houston formally abandoned an ordinance Wednesday that banned buskers throughout most of the city, four months after it was struck down by a federal judge. For decades, Houston made busking — musicians and other artists performing on streets … Continue reading

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“More Space: Main Street” permanently extended

A good outcome for a good idea. Houston will close down traffic on seven blocks of Main Street permanently to allow businesses to maintain outdoor seating spaces initially established during the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to expand the concept to other commercial strips in … Continue reading

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ShotSpotter

I’m more skeptical than not, but there is a way to make me less so. Two years in, Houston’s ShotSpotter program has resulted in 5,450 alerts, 99 arrests and the seizure of 107 guns, but no real consensus on its … Continue reading

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Have you chipped your pet yet?

The city will begin enforcing its new ordinance requiring dogs and cats to be microchipped. Houston is offering free microchips for dogs and cats before it begins enforcing a new ordinance that requires pets to have the identification devices. City … Continue reading

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A new proposal for adding sidewalks

I’d like to hear more about this. Some homeowners and developers soon may be able to opt out of requirements to build sidewalks and instead pay a fee into a new fund the city would use to build sidewalks across … Continue reading

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January 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston

It’s late January, so you know what that means: It’s campaign finance report time again. The reports of the greatest interest will be for the city of Houston, but I’ll be checking in on HISD, HCC, and Harris County as … Continue reading

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No more library fines in Houston

Good news for some of you, I’m sure. Houston Public Library patrons no longer will have to pay overdue fees and will have a month-long amnesty period to get past fines canceled. City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the library’s … Continue reading

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Katy ISD challenged over at large districts

This was from before Christmas but I didn’t have a chance to write about it until now. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund sent a letter Tuesday to Katy ISD accusing the district of disenfranchising Black and Latino voters … Continue reading

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Mayor Turner’s final year

The big local political story, besides whatever violence the Legislature commits to Houston and/or Harris County, will be the 2023 Mayor’s race. The incumbent still has a full year to go, though, and he has his plans for what he … Continue reading

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City approves new regulations on outdoor music festivals

Hope they help. Houston City Council on Monday approved stricter permitting requirements for outdoor music events on private property with more than 500 attendees. There has been an increasing number of instances in which organizers only informed the city of … Continue reading

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LULAC files that lawsuit to end Houston City Council At Large districts

We’ve been waiting for this. The League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday filed its long-anticipated lawsuit against the city of Houston, seeking to get rid of at-large City Council seats that it says leave Hispanic residents with insufficient representation at City Hall. … Continue reading

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Houston to spend more fixing water pipes

Seems like a good idea. The city is poised to at least double its annual spending on water line repairs, citing two years of pipe breaks and leaks driven in part by ongoing drought conditions. Houston lost nearly 20 billion … Continue reading

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A too-early look at who’s running for Houston city offices in 2023

Because it’s never not election season. With the midterm elections behind us, city election season is now heating up. Next November, Houston will elect a new mayor, a new controller and 16 City Council members. The campaigns actually got underway long before … Continue reading

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Commissioner-elect Briones

Good story. Yes, Lesley Briones secured a victory that handed Democrats a stall-proof majority on Harris County Commissioners Court. And yes, she upset Republican Commissioner Jack Cagle in a precinct where he has won reelection every cycle since 2011, beating … Continue reading

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Mayor Turner’s cancer treatment

I’m very glad to hear he’s doing well. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner revealed Wednesday that he was diagnosed with cancer this summer, for which he had surgery and received six weeks of radiation treatment. Turner said he went to the … Continue reading

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New regulations for outdoor music events proposed

Good idea, but it feels to me like there ought to be more. Houston is considering tightening up permitting requirements for some large outdoor music events to avoid wasting city resources accommodating last-minute notices. On Thursday, officials from the Houston … Continue reading

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Houston City Council approves its new map

Now we wait for the lawsuit(s). City Council on Wednesday approved new boundaries for the city’s 11 districts for the 2023 elections, featuring modest adjustments affecting parts of downtown, Braeburn, Greater Inwood and a few areas in southeast Houston. The … Continue reading

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We could maybe vote on a piece of the stupid revenue cap next year

Yippie. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday he will ask voters in 2023 to amend the city’s cap on property tax revenue to allow for more public safety spending, as the council cut the city’s tax rate for the eighth time … Continue reading

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Investigating abortions is Houston’s “lowest priority”

So says Mayor Turner, and I’m glad to hear it. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Thursday that investigating abortions under the state’s near-total ban is the city’s “lowest priority” when it comes to crime. Turner said the city would continue to … Continue reading

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Houston will have a bond on the ballot

First I’d heard of this, but it should be pretty routine. Houston will ask voters in November to approve a $478 million bond program to buy fire and police vehicles, renovate or replace city facilities and give the city’s animal … Continue reading

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On resign to run

The TL;dr version of this is “No one ever said the Elections Code was fair”. John Whitmire’s plans have been clear since November: He is running for re-election to the state Senate, and he also is running for mayor. If all … Continue reading

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July 2022 campaign finance reports: City of Houston

We’re still more than a year out from the 2023 election, but we are now up to three serious conteners for Mayor, plus two others in the wild, so the finance reports are beginning to generate some real interest. The … Continue reading

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Chron story on the proposed new City Council map

Remember, you heard it here first. Houston’s proposed City Council maps for 2023 elections make only minor changes to district boundaries near Rice University, Freedmen’s Town and parts of downtown. Overall, less than 3% of Houston’s 2.3 million residents will … Continue reading

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City Council redistricting on the agenda

Get ready for some public hearings. The City Council of the City of Houston, Texas, will hold the following public hearings in the City Council Chamber, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 901 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002. The purpose of the hearings is … Continue reading

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City passes its budget

Not too much drama. Houston’s $5.7 billion budget for the next fiscal year includes a big jump in revenue from water bills, raises for all city employees and the largest unspent reserves in years. City Council voted 15-2 to adopt … Continue reading

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It’s city of Houston budget time again

That federal COVID relief money continues to be very nice. Once again relying on federal money, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposed $5.7 billion budget for next year would pay for raises for all city employees, offer tax relief to seniors and … Continue reading

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Houston updates its noise ordinance

This was probably inevitable, though it sure took a long time. Houston bars, nightclubs and restaurants must obtain new permits to play amplified music within 120 days under a revised ordinance aimed at cracking down on disruptive late-night noise without … Continue reading

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City Council approves security camera ordinance for bars and convenience stores

I have mixed feelings about this. Houston bars, nightclubs and convenience stores must install security cameras outside of their buildings within 90 days in a citywide surveillance effort Mayor Sylvester Turner hopes will diminish violent crime in high-risk areas. City … Continue reading

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