Tag Archives: Annise Parker

Yet another threat to light rail expansion

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Great. The House could vote as soon as mid-February on a plan by the conservative House Republican Study Committee to end the 35-year-old Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” program,” which pours $2 billion-a-year into urban transit projects such as Houston … Continue reading →

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On garbage fees and single stream recycling

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You might have seen this blurb a few days ago about Solid Waste director Harry Hayes making a pitch to Mayor Parker to expand single stream recycling to every home in Houston: To reach 100 percent, Hayes told City Council … Continue reading →

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Effect of exempting schools and churches on drainage fee would be small

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the drainage fee that will be collected to fund street and sewage repairs through the project formerly known as Renew Houston is intended to apply to all property that isn’t specifically exempted by state law, such as … Continue reading →

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A very early look at 2011 fundraising

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago I took an early look at the 2011 city elections, but there was a key ingredient missing in that analysis: Money. The fundraising season for city candidates, which has been closed since last January, will … Continue reading →

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Unfinished business

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One thing that stood out to me from the Chron’s Q&A with Noel Freeman, the newly-elected president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus: Q. What has changed about Houston’s GLBT community in past three decades? A. We have branched out. … Continue reading →

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Let the redistricting begin

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We’re a few weeks away from getting final Census data that will be used to redraw the boundaries for Houston City Council districts (and everything else), but here’s an early look at what to expect from the process. City Attorney … Continue reading →

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Cities and counties prepare to play defense

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a rough session for cities and counties, who have every reason to believe that a large part of the Lege’s budget-balancing strategy will be to foist expenses on them. “As will all of the big cities … Continue reading →

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Quittencourt

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say about this: Many things about Paul Bettencourt have been true for as long as he has inhabited public life. The former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector hates when public money is spent on professional sports … Continue reading →

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Historic preservation has been preserved

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot: THE RESULTS ARE in, and it looks like the great campaign todissolve Houston’s historic districts has been a bit of a bust. Houston planning director Marlene Gafrick reports that the “survey period” for Heights East, Heights West, Heights South, … Continue reading →

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Revising the city ethics code

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know enough about the specifics of this to draw any firm conclusions, but it sounds reasonable enough from the description. The city is poised to significantly tighten its ethics rules, closing loopholes that allow lobbyists to avoid registration … Continue reading →

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A more suburban Metro?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another possible feature of the Census data, of which I had not been previously aware, could be characterized as Metro redistricting. The city of Houston could lose its majority control of the Metro board if the 2010 Census shows that … Continue reading →

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A very early look at the 2011 elections

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas on the Potomac lists 11 national races of interest for 2011. Well, of interest to some – outside of the Dallas Mayoral race, none of these mean much to me, and that’s only if incumbent Tom Leppart leaves to … Continue reading →

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The mandatory furlough plan

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Happy New Year, city employees. Thousands of city of Houston employees will have to take six unpaid days off in the coming six months, one of a series of actions Mayor Annise Parker is taking to close a $29 million … Continue reading →

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Preparing to implement Prop 1

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Proposition 1, originally known as Renew Houston but now apparently dubbed “Rebuilding Houston”, was passed by voters last month, which means that the Mayor and City Council must come up with a way to raise the $125 million per year … Continue reading →

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The pension problem

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know enough about the particulars of the city’s pension problems to be able to sort out the competing claims made in this story. I do know that the current system is not sustainable, and that the fight to … Continue reading →

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Prop 1 opponents file “We think the voters are stupid” lawsuit

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m really angry about this. Opponents of Proposition 1, Houston’s recently-passed drainage fee, filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday against Mayor Annise Parker and the City of Houston. The lawsuit calls Prop 1 “illegal” because “the ballot language does not accurately … Continue reading →

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Fee for all

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Much as the state will soon do, the city of Houston is raising a bunch of fees. The city of Houston is poised to raise an estimated 150 fees for services ranging from pool inspections to boiler permits, part of … Continue reading →

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What we have here is failure to communicate

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been pondering this Rick Casey column about the issues of communications and Council relations in Mayor Parker’s office. I don’t have much to add to it at this time. I’ve had some conversations with people in recent days that … Continue reading →

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The city vs ATS

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on the red light camera lawsuit in which the city is seeking guidance on how to go about terminating its contract with red light camera vendor ATS, and ATS is seeking to overturn the referendum. “We were … Continue reading →

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Voluntary to become involuntary

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sure didn’t take long. By unanimous vote of City Council, the voluntary furloughs will become involuntary by the end of the year, with Mayor Parker deciding how many enforced unpaid days off are needed to help close the budget … Continue reading →

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Council shakeup

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Things are getting mighty interesting down at City Hall. Mayor Annise Parker has parted ways with two major conservatives on the Houston City Council, removing Councilman Mike Sullivan from his role overseeing redistricting and accepting the resignation of Councilwoman Anne … Continue reading →

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Voluntary furloughs

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. Mayor Annise Parker announced a voluntary furlough program for civilian employees in December, the first in what may be a series of difficult steps the city must take to close a $30 million budget deficit … Continue reading →

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City’s finance director leaves

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Make of it what you will. City Finance Director Michelle Mitchell, a former Goldman Sachs veteran who has helped guide Houston through consecutive years of severe budget problems, is leaving her post. Mitchell said she offered her resignation Wednesday after … Continue reading →

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You really can go broke saving money

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas has cost itself billions of dollars over the past decade or so by doing things like cutting CHIP and thus losing out on far more federal funds than any savings achieved in the state budget. Harris … Continue reading →

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HPD braces for cuts

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More than $15 million is going to be cut from HPD’s budget, in part to lost red light camera revenue and in part to the overall budget picture. The equivalent of more than 100 civilian jobs, including temporary workers, will … Continue reading →

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More on Houston’s sustainability efforts

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story about Houston Sustainability Director Laura Spanjian and her efforts to make our fair city a greener place, which also appeared in the Sunday New York Times, can be considered a companion piece to the earlier CultureMap story … Continue reading →

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We’re #1 in misleading rankings on annoying lists

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So what else is new? Mayor Annise Parker lashed out at an controversial annual study released Monday that placed Houston among the most dangerous cities in the United States with a population of 500,000 or higher. “Crime Rankings 2010-2011,” published … Continue reading →

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Baby, you can charge my car

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Plug it in, plug it in. The city of Houston will make it easier for locals to buy and own electric cars, including speeding up permitting of home charging stations and opening up HOV lanes to the vehicles. Mayor Annise … Continue reading →

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The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

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Red light cameras to be turned off Monday

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. This week, officials with American Traffic Solutions Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., received a letter dated Nov. 10 from city attorney David Feldman, who reversed his previous opinion that the contract requires Houston to give ATS a 120-day … Continue reading →

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What now for Renew Houston?

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the disposal of the red light cameras and the associated costs of their removal, Mayor Parker and City Council now need to work out the details for Prop 1, which created the dedicated fund for streets and … Continue reading →

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Census participation numbers

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Seventy percent of Houston households returned their 2010 census forms by mail, up 6 percent from 10 years ago. That could translate into millions of dollars in additional federal funding, according to city officials. Bragging rights, too. Just … Continue reading →

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Billboard battle finally resolved

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. A protracted wrangle over 59 billboards illegally erected in Houston’s 5-mile-wide extraterritorial jurisdiction ringing the city ended Thursday when U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ordered bankrupt RTM Media to dismantle the outdoor advertising within 12 months. The judge’s order … Continue reading →

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The Mayor’s email to Council regarding drainage and street repair

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This email from Mayor Parker to City Council members about the estimated costs of street and drainage repairs found its way into my Inbox, and I’m sharing it with you because it’s something you should know about, too. Any long-term … Continue reading →

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