The details
Of the 26 amendments to the budget that were introduced at the meeting, six passed; 10 were withdrawn by the respective council member who submitted them; nine were referred back to various city committees to be discussed further before returning to council; and one amendment was defeated.
What passed?
- Amendment 4.01, from Council Member Letitia Plummer: The city will ensure equitable distribution of funds for storm drainage and traffic control projects within the city's capital improvement fund. Under this amendment, the city will promote fairness and prioritize funding based on factors such as historical flooding, infrastructure conditions, future flood risk and climate change. The city will also conduct a comprehensive and proactive evaluation of drainage needs.
- Amendment 5.01, from Council Member Sallie Alcorn: An increase to special revenue funds for the city's animal shelter to $500,000. Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin voted no on the amendment citing questions he had over funding for animal adoption truck trailers, which Alcorn said range in cost from $125,000-$175,000.
- Amendment 6.02, from Council Member Amy Peck: Audit reports from the comptroller's office will be presented to the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee within 90 days of being released.
- Amendment 6.08, from Council Member Amy Peck: The Houston Public Library will explore the possibility of working with the Harris County Library System.
- Amendment 7.01, from Council Member Tarsha Jackson: This takes $20 million of the city's FY 2023-24 budget for red line funding for general government operations and redirects it to local drainage projects, prioritizing the most at-risk areas. After 20 minutes of discussion, the amendment passed and received a round of applause from people watching in the council chambers.
- Amendment 8.03, from Council Member Abbie Kamin: The amendment relates to the Houston Forensic Science Center's FY 2023-24 operating budget of $28.5 million. Under the amendment, the previously agreed upon $4.95 million in funding in American Rescue Plan Act funding cannot be used toward DNA testing, Kamin said.
- An amendment submitted by Peck would create an amnesty program to allow for liens against properties to be paid without additional fines or legal ramifications.
- The amendment was referred to the Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee and must be addressed within 90 days.
- An amendment submitted by Kamin would establish a comprehensive dashboard that integrates all available firearm injury data into one place. The amendment is intended to guide health experts on prevention and intervention efforts and would be the first of its kind in the U.S., Kamin said.
- The amendment was referred to the Public Safety and Quality of Life Committees to be dealt with in the next 45-60 days.
- An amendment submitted by Martin would increase the fee for golfers at Memorial Park.
- The amendment was referred to the Quality of Life Committee. This amendment will be addressed again by "this mayor or the next," Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
- An amendment submitted by Council Member Mary Nan Huffman would have $773,000 transferred from the solid waste management department container lease fund to the sponsorship program.
- The amendment was referred to the Quality of Life Committee to be dealt with in the next 60 days.
- An amendment submitted by Council Member Robert Gallegos would provide ARPA funding of no more than $410,000 to expand and sustain the city's Smart Railroad Crossing Monitors project and extend it to 35 street-grade railroad crossings citywide.
- The amendment was referred to the Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure committee.
- An amendment submitted by Gallegos would create a one-time fee on new residential development that requires waste service to be provided by the Solid Waste Management Department. This one-time fee would be calculated by multiplying the number of new single-family dwellings in the development by the costs incurred by the city to deliver a new refuse container.
- The amendment was referred to the Quality of Life Committee.
- An amendment submitted by Gallegos would increase funding for the Solid Waste Management Department by drawing down dollars from the city's fund balance or establishing a monthly solid waste user fee for residents with solid waste trash service.
- The amendment was referred to the Quality of Life Committee.
- An amendment submitted by Gallegos would bolster the city's employee benefits package with a new incentive to attract and retain top talent. The city's human resource department, in partnership with the Houston Airport System, would develop an incentive that offers full-time employees with at least five years of service with the city up to 14 days per year of complimentary parking at the city-owned parking lots at William P. Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports.
- The amendment was referred to the Quality of Life Committee.
- An amendment submitted by Gallegos would have the Department of Neighborhoods assign one code enforcement officer to work with each council district office to investigate, enforce and remediate community concerns and code violations.
- The amendment was referred to the Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee.
The items that passed will be adopted into the FY 2023-24 budget, while the amendments referred to city committees have the opportunity to return to city Council again for a later vote.
