Emily Hynds, known locally as “she who takes notes,” has been independently covering Houston City Council meetings since June 2020. In her monthly Houstonia column, she shares all the juicy intel about what’s going on at city hall. Want to check the meetings out for yourself? Read this companion guide.

In this month’s dispatch: The mayor clashes with a councilmember over district funds, the TIRZ drama keeps on giving, and we sure hope they find the budget to update our wastewater system—seems kind of important, no?

RIP Sylvester Turner

Sylvester Turner, who served in the Texas House of Representatives for 26 years and was mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024, died on March 5. Mayor John Whitmire announced his passing at the council meeting that same day. He and many councilmembers shared remembrances, often very emotional, and offered condolences to Turner’s family and friends. This council meeting was understandably very short and adjourned early to allow for bereavement.

During his monthly financial report on March 19, controller Chris Hollins advocated for official remembrances of Turner, including hanging a photo at city hall and renaming part of Bagby Street in his honor. The photo is now up, but Mayor Whitmire made no mention of support at the council meeting for the street renaming.

Councilmember Pollard vs. the mayor

Councilmember Edward Pollard has been at odds with Mayor Whitmire over council district service funds, or CDSF. The CDSF is the budget each councilmember gets to spend at their discretion, usually about $1 million annually. Many councilmembers use their CDSF to pay for projects like extra Houston Police Department patrols, median clean-ups, maintenance of overgrown lots, and spay and neuter events. Councilmember Pollard has traditionally used his CDSF for District J initiatives like home repair help for the elderly, beautification projects, and to supplement HPD’s efforts, but he’s having problems getting them approved this year. Pollard says his proposals have gone through proper channels but have not gotten approval from the mayor’s office, and are hence on pause. Whitmire’s administration is claiming that Pollard’s initiatives might be circumventing city procurement policy and adding an extra layer of unnecessary bureaucracy.

At the March 19 meeting, Pollard said, “I want to clear a couple things up, mayor. I’ve heard in the news and through your press conferences the mention of conflicts of interest by my office as it pertains to procurement processes and our CDSF... My office does not hire or fire any contractors or vendors. We follow all the city procurement laws... So any assertion or inference that we are skirting any type of rules is false.” Whitmire did not respond.

Something in the water

Houston’s wastewater treatment plants have been under scrutiny, especially as budget season draws nigh. Houston Public Media reported in February that Houston Public Works is seeking $15 billion for a new wastewater treatment plant and other wastewater improvements. For reference, the current annual city budget was approved for approximately $6.7 billion. The city does regularly spend money on wastewater treatment plants, including $5.2 million on February 26, $10.4 million on March 6, and $4 million on March 19.

At the March 19 meeting, councilmember Mario Castillo recounted a recent tour of the 69th Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, which he said treats one quarter of the city’s wastewater. He praised the (hardworking and understaffed) employees for coming up with creative solutions to maintain the aging technology. He mentioned upcoming investment in the 69th Street plant and said, “We’d be in a lot of trouble if that plant went down.”

TIRZ drama just keeps going

On February 26, city council unanimously confirmed the appointment of three new board members to the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ)—we covered some of this last month. Councilmember Abbie Kamin, who represents District C where the TIRZ is located, praised several former Montrose TIRZ leaders who she says served with distinction, commitment, and integrity. While she said that the new board members are qualified and she would support their confirmation, she went on to say, “I am concerned that we have lost all institutional knowledge with this TIRZ. The board has been completely replaced in less than a year. There’s no leadership pipeline, no transition, no consistency in the midst of nearly decades, if not more, of work.” She advocated for the Montrose TIRZ to stay true to its diverse, neighborhood-driven roots, which she intimated were ignored during this nomination process.

On March 19, five TIRZ budgets were put on hold when councilmembers Julian Ramirez and Willie Davis tagged them, which delays their vote for at least another week. Ramirez and Davis both complained about a lack of engagement and that their offices did not have appropriate time to review. Several councilmembers pointed out the (publicly available, regularly occurring) opportunities that exist for all, including councilmembers, to get involved with TIRZ and stay informed. These opportunities include budget proposals and review.

Coming up

This spat between councilmember Pollard and Mayor Whitmire over how councilmembers use their service funds will probably continue to rear its head. One thing I didn’t even get into this month is the dueling budget projections coming out of the city’s finance department and the Houston Controller’s office, led by Chris Hollins. Each department is treating the projected $100 million settlement for the ongoing drainage lawsuit very differently. And of course, budget season approaches. I will take notes on it all to share with you next month. Houston City Council meetings take place almost every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 901 Bagby Street or online via HTV.