Less than two weeks ahead of the budget season, Controller Chris Hollins, Houston’s financial watchdog, protested the cancellation of an upcoming Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee hearing where he was set to discuss what the agreement means for city finances.
“This information is time-sensitive,” Hollins said to the Chronicle. “They’re going to have to make important decisions around the settlement in days to come, so we can’t wait for weeks and weeks at a time to share this information.”
Mayor John Whitmire, in response, said he wanted Council Member Sallie Alcorn, chair of the budget committee, to be present at these meetings, but Alcorn is traveling and unable to attend the one scheduled for next Monday.
He said he had informed Alcorn of his intention during a call last week. When Hollins tried to submit his presentation the day before the meeting, however, Alcorn’s office told him it was too late to modify the agenda, citing the Texas Open Meetings Act, which mandates that the city posts meeting details at least 72 hours in advance.
They agreed to schedule another budget meeting the following Monday for Hollins’ presentation, according to the controller. But Alcorn later informed him the meeting had been canceled.
“After the meeting was agreed to and publicly announced, to hear that it was canceled without any explanation is certainly disappointing,” Hollins said. Source
Mayor Whitmire must not be capable of multi-tasking?
I guess photo-ops are more important than the city’s financial well-being. I can complain as I voted for SJL. What can John Whitmire do to help the people whose houses are flooding? Take a ride on a boat with a camera following him?
“I respect the city controller’s role in informing council committees on financial matters. I also respect the committee structure, and I believe the chair should be present for important discussions such as this,” Whitmire said to the Chronicle.
The mayor added his main priority today and into the weekend will be focusing on “the victims of the flooding in Kingwood and the first responders rescuing them.” Source
Chris Hollins Controller, I did vote for him.
The controller’s latest analysis, now set to be presented during a Monday press conference, will delve deeper into the deal’s financial implications, Hollins said. It will outline, for example, what firefighters’ salaries will look like over the next five years, how their pay compares to that in other large Texas metros and what the deal will mean for an average Houston firefighter.
“It is not my job to make a determination of the fairness of the settlement, but what I can do is help council and the public to understand what these financial terms truly mean for Houston,” Hollins said. Source