CM Julian Ramirez
As Houston City Council prepares to vote on a whopping $16.7 billion plan for city projects over the next five years, one council member is proposing a greater level of transparency from Mayor John Whitmire when it comes to his administration’s plans for projects in their districts.
At-Large Council Member Julian Ramirez put forward three amendments Tuesday to the city’s capital improvement plan that would require the mayor to give monthly reports to each individual council member on projects that were canceled, delayed, redesigned or altered in their district.
A second proposal would allow council members to object to the administration’s change within 10 days of the report if three or more council members opposed it. After an objection is filed, the item would then appear on a council agenda within two weeks for the council as a whole to decide its fate.
A third would allow public hearings to happen for the procurement of goods or services related to the creation or removal of a project, per a council member’s request.
The first two proposals were co-sponsored by Council Member Abbie Kamin, who represents neighborhoods like Montrose and the Heights.
Ramirez told the Houston Chronicle after Tuesday’s meeting the proposal came about after he heard complaints from council members about projects included on the capital improvement plan that either weren’t done or continuously pushed back. When projects are lost or changed, residents often look to their council member for an explanation, Ramirez explained.
Houston operates under a strong-mayor form a government where the mayor holds near-total control over the city’s legislative agenda.
“It’s really beyond the council members control, because it’s up to the administration to to take care of all that,” Ramirez said. “This is a way for council members to stay better informed and be better able to communicate with their residents and advocate for their residents.”
Ramirez said changes without notification probably happen no matter who is the mayor, and that he’s had good luck working with Whitmire.
“That said, with a strong mayor, form of government, it is possible for a mayor to to punish, to try to punish council member, if so inclined, by changing the CIP, withholding projects, what have you,” Ramirez said. “I haven’t seen that occur under this administration. I’m sure that it has happened under other mayors, and so I think council should have a little better way of dealing with that.”
Whitmire told the Chronicle following the council meeting that he had heard the proposed change for the first time Tuesday, and planned to meet with Ramirez to discuss the amendments further.
Three guesses as to why CM Kamin might be in on this action. While I agree with CM Ramirez that this sort of thing can (and almost certainly does) happen regardless of who is the Mayor, I’d say it’s been more noticeable with this Mayor. Be that as it may, I like this idea and I hope Council approves all three amendments.