Tag Archives: budget

Yes, they really are now pushing a sales tax for property tax swap

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Some bad ideas never die. Texas’ top three political leaders — Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen — threw their support Wednesday behind a proposal to increase the sales tax by one percentage point … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Time for another Texas Central legislative update

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I keep thinking that Texas Central has reached a point where there’s not much that can be done in the Lege to stop them, and events continue to prove otherwise. Dallas-Houston bullet train developer Texas Central Partners LLC said its … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

First city layoff notices sent

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The city has sent pink slips to 67 Houston Fire Department cadets, the first documented layoffs resulting from Mayor Sylvester Turner’s plan to implement Proposition B. The trainees will remain employed through June 7, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The further effects of Prop B

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, what did you expect? The Houston Fire Department would idle six to nine fire trucks and employ fewer firefighters per shift, risking a modest increase in response times, if City Council approves a $25 million reduction in HFD’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

House approves budget, and other news

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Always a major milestone. In Dennis Bonnen’s first major test as speaker of the Texas House, the chamber he oversees resoundingly passed a $251 billion budget Wednesday after a long but largely civil debate — a departure from the dramatics … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House approves budget, and other news

Garbage fee trashed

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not surprised, though I’d have thought it would get more support that this. Houston City Council disposed of a proposed garbage collection fee in a pair of 16-1 votes Wednesday. Councilman Dwight Boykins, who floated the monthly fee as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How would you implement Prop B?

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here, from last week, is Mayor Turner’s official announcement about layoffs, following a failure to come to an agreement with the firefighters’ union about a time frame to fully implement Prop B. Here’s the Chron story about the firefighters protesting … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Garbage fee on the agenda

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think this is going to pass, but it will get a vote. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday said he would put a proposed garbage fee on next week’s city council agenda, but will not vote for it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Inevitably, we come back to a sales tax/property tax swap

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an idea we just can’t seem to quit. Texas lawmakers are considering an infusion of $9 billion to improve public schools and lower property taxes over the next two years. The additional $6.3 billion in the classroom is being … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

House passes its budget out of committee

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

On to the full House, then the real fight occurs. A panel of House budget writers gave initial approval Monday to a budget that would spend $115 billion in state funds, including a $9 billion infusion of new funds for … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House passes its budget out of committee

Senate files its school finance bill

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. On the night of the deadline to file bills this legislative session, Texas Senate leaders turned in their first crack at legislation designed to reform school finance — rounding out a series of proposals in the upper … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Firefighter layoffs

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to lay off up to 400 firefighters as he prepares to award pay raises required by Proposition B, the voter-approved charter amendment that grants firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding rank, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Here comes the House school finance plan

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not surprisingly, they go bigger than the Senate. With Texas House lawmakers unveiling their long-awaited school finance proposal Tuesday and the Senate’s version likely close behind, teacher pay appears to be emerging as one of the biggest sticking points between … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dems propose their school finance bills

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to have a broad array of options. The Texas House Democratic Caucus laid out a $14.5 billion plan for school finance reform and property tax relief Thursday, releasing a list of priorities in advance of a key school … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

City proposes partial pay raise to firefighters

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Progress, of a sort. Houston officials have offered to raise firefighters’ base salaries, but not sufficiently to establish pay parity with police officers as approved by voters, city and firefighter union officials said Wednesday. “In my mind, the proposal makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Things the Rainy Day Fund was not intended for

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This, for one. A pair of conservative lawmakers want Texans to help pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall and plan to ask lawmakers to take $2.5 billion out of its rainy day fund to cover the costs. Reps. Briscoe … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Things the Rainy Day Fund was not intended for

Commissioners Court rejects Ogg’s request for more prosecutors

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I fully expected that Commissioners Court going from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democratic after the last election would signal big changes in how business was done in Harris County, but I didn’t expect this to be the first milestone on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

How many prosecutors do we need?

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Opinions differ, but it’s a big question in Harris County right now. Hanover is one of many prosecutors Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said are overburdened — the reason she has asked Commissioners Court for a budget that would … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Always beware revenue caps

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re always a bad idea. Flanked by the state’s top legislative leaders, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that both chambers of the Texas Legislature will push to curb property tax growth by limiting how much money local governments collect without … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Firefighters go back to court

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association sought a court order Tuesday aiming to force the city to pay firefighters the same as police officers of corresponding rank and seniority, one day before Mayor Sylvester Turner and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State House mulls big increase in school funding

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a good start. As Texas’ Republican leadership calls for property tax cuts and a school finance overhaul, the Texas House on Monday pitched a bold proposal: Pump roughly $7 billion more state funds into public schools — but only … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on State House mulls big increase in school funding

Our pretty decent revenue estimate

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen much worse. At a time when legislators are vowing to spend more money on public schools and slow the growth of Texans’ property tax bills, the state should have enough money at its disposal to do just that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Our pretty decent revenue estimate

Here comes the latest school finance report

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I figure the smart money is always on efforts like this to fail, but you never know. After hours of discussion Wednesday, a state panel studying school finance stripped its final report of language that blamed the state for inadequate … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The legal option for Prop B

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Mayor Sylvester Turner will ask Houston city council Wednesday to hire a law firm to advise the city on possible litigation related to the firefighter pay parity measure, setting in motion a potential court challenge to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Can we negotiate our way to a Prop B agreement?

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration is moving forward with plans for hundreds of layoffs following last week’s voter approval of Prop B despite questions about whether jobs could be saved through renewed negotiations with the city’s firefighters union. […] … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Metro’s post-Culberson future

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You might not be aware of this, but famously anti-Metro Congressman John Culberson lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday. What might that mean for Metro? In one of the more stunning defeats of incumbent Republicans on Tuesday night, Lizzie … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

We’ll have to wait a little longer for the inevitable Prop B lawsuit

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still coming, just not, like, today. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday said he would delay a City Council vote to hire a law firm to represent the city in possible litigation over Proposition B, the ballot item passed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He sure hopes so. On his long-shot campaign to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Collier is hoping he’s popular in a lot of rooms that look like this one — where after hearing from him, education-focused voters in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

Endorsement watch: City propositions

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron says Yes on Prop A: Here’s the blunt truth: Voting “against” on Proposition A won’t cut your taxes. It will, however, open the door to more municipal debt. That is why Houstonians should vote “for” Proposition A, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The problem with the revenue cap, in two short paragraphs

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron: The average homeowner has saved a cumulative $436 thanks to the rate adjustments driven by the revenue cap since 2014, an average of $87 per year. The same adjustments have prevented the city from collecting $533 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

The pay parity proposal debate that wasn’t

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s not get ready to rumble! Houston’s firefighters union has withdrawn from a Saturday debate with Mayor Sylvester Turner on their proposal to seek pay “parity” with police officers, saying the event’s host, the Harris County Democratic Party, had given … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The firefighter pay parity proposal sure seems like it’s going to pass

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What are ya gonna do? Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is holding town halls to try to convince voters that the city can’t afford Proposition B, a ballot measure that would tie firefighters’ pay to that of police. It’s turning into … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 49 Comments

Property tax revenue up, school funding down

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to Texas. An early projection has Texas decreasing state funding to public education, and largely using local taxes to fill the gap. In its preliminary budget request ahead of next year’s legislative session, the Texas Education Agency projected a … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Property tax revenue up, school funding down

HFD Chief warns of layoffs

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, this isn’t the first time we have heard this. Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña on Tuesday warned of dire consequences — including possible layoffs of more than 800 firefighters and deferred maintenance or upgrades on aging equipment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments