After 25 departmental reviews, on May 30th, City Council voted to approve the budget for FY2019, which begins July 1, 2018. The new $4.9 billion budget closes a $114 million deficit with no layoffs or tax increases.
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
- Council District Service Funds will continue, with $750,000 allocated to each District Council Member to facilitate local projects.
- The FY 2019 budget fully funds our pension obligations. The Mayor’s historic pension solution, approved by the Texas Legislature last year, resulted in $300 million in savings during this budget process alone.
- Five police cadet classes and three firefighter cadet classes are funded.
- The budget includes a healthy emergency fund balance in preparation for hurricane season, which begins today, June 1st.
- Departmental spending has been reduced by over $80 million over the past three years.
With a fiscally conservative budget in place for FY2019, Council will continue their efforts to address future expected deficits. These include the City’s 10-15% share of Hurricane Harvey recovery costs that are not paid by FEMA; replenishment of the $20 million that was taken away from the Budget Stabilization Fund to cover other Harvey costs; and the need to hire an additional 500 police officers over the next five years.
To do so, Mayor Turner has suggested adding a measure to the November 2018 ballot to allow voters to lift the revenue cap for the purposes of public safety. I strongly support this proposal and will send out further details once they are released.