What’s being done
Council member Sallie Alcorn said during an April 29 Budget and Fiscal Affairs meeting that the preliminary fiscal year 2026 budget will be released May 6. A Budget Fiscal & Affairs meeting will be held May 7 with Finance Director Melissa Dubowski giving an overview of the budget and a five-year forecast.
The city will hold budget workshops May 13-20 at the Anna Russell City Council Chamber and are open to the public. The new fiscal year begins July 1:
Zooming in
Houston is facing a projected $330 million budget deficit after the city lost a drainage lawsuit that would've forced Houston to allocate $100 million toward the street and drainage fund by the end of the fiscal year. However, the city and the plaintiffs reached a deal to allocate these funds over time by 2028, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
City officials said this new deal slashes the deficit down to $230 million. Now, Mayor John Whitmire has been pushing for different initiatives to help offset the rest of the shortfall.
For example, the Ernst & Young efficiency study released in February laid out the city’s spending habits and efficiency issues, including finding out that the city is currently operating with over 4,000 vacant positions, predominantly in the police, public works and fire departments. Whitmire said if the city implements the recommendations based on the report, the city could save millions.
What else?
Dubowski said during the April 30 City Council meeting that the city is expected to save $30 million through the voluntary retirement program. The program is a 1-time voluntary retirement incentive to the 2,700 retirement-eligible city employees, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Dubowski said about one-third of retirement-eligible employees accepted the retirement package.
