Council gets its turn with the city budget

Mayor White proposed his budget for 2009 last month, and now it's City Council's turn to have at it.

With oil prices on the rise and construction costs escalating, some council members plan to submit proposals they say could make city government more efficient.

For example, Councilwoman Toni Lawrence wants the city to consider consolidating all grass mowing operations under the Department of Parks and Recreation.

But Houston's population continues to grow, along with demands for services. So, many of the proposed amendments, if passed, would cost money. They include calls for hiring more fire and neighborhood inspectors and increased spending on veterans, after-school programs and the homeless.

Councilman M.J. Khan will offer a number of proposals to save energy, such as studying whether some city workers could adopt a four-day workweek.

He also wants the administration to study whether outsourcing the crime lab could save money and increase accountability.

Khan, chair of the Flooding and Drainage Committee, also wants more money dedicated to flood control. Although the proposed budget would dedicate 0.3 cents of every $100 in assessed value to drainage projects, Khan said that was not enough.

He said he wants the administration to study other sources of funding, including a fee on new developments.

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Lawrence and other council members may ask for more fire inspectors.

The Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that the Houston Fire Department's 10 inspectors are overworked. Fire barriers, intended to prevent flames from spreading through attics in apartment buildings, cannot be inspected more frequently than every five years, senior inspector Mike Thomas told the Chronicle. Six more inspectors could shorten the inspection cycle to three years, Thomas said.

Other council members want more inspectors to help neighborhoods enforce deed restrictions, and to crack down on nuisances such as overgrown lots and dilapidated vacant houses.

Councilwoman Melissa Noriega wants the city to get a head start on designing and funding light-rail stations.

To make sure the stations have proper sidewalks, landscaping and amenities, she is expected to introduce an amendment to make sure the city coordinates with Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones in neighborhoods through which the light-rail lines will pass.

As you might imagine, I like that idea, as does Stace. Houston is fortunate to be in a position where it can look ahead and invest in some future needs, and I hope that opportunity will be taken.

The full budget so far is here, for those of you who like to pore through such things. That comes via Matt Stiles, who notes that District I Council Member James Rodriguez is proposing a large expansion of the red light camera program, which he intends to use to fund some public safety initiatives. I'd have to see the specifics of that before I could comment on it, but that's a lot of cameras he's suggesting. Expect a lot of pushback on that one.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 11, 2008 to Local politics