Mayor John Whitmire
Houston Public Works and the city controller’s office will receive deeper analyses of their operations and finances after the city council on Wednesday voted to expand the purview of Mayor John Whitmire’s efficiency study.
The study, completed by Houston-based accounting firm Ernst & Young, aims to rid the city of any potential wasteful spending and processes that are hindering providing city services.
Results of a sweep across the city’s 22 departments found potential misuse of city credit cards, as well as extensive problems with the process the city uses to secure goods and services.
The council’s vote on Wednesday allocated $388,000 more toward the study, bringing the city’s investment in streamlining operations from $965,000 to more than $1.35 million, according to council agenda documents.
City leaders in September also voted to expand the study to take a deeper look into Houston’s 28 tax districts following a scandal with the city’s Midtown Redevelopment Authority where an official misspent $8.5 million that was supposed to go toward affordable housing.
Council on Wednesday also voted to approve a nearly $4 million for support services through Ernst & Young to monitor and help implement the recommendations laid out in the study over the next 18 months.
See here for the background. As I’ve said before, I’m fine with doing this – if one must make cuts, it’s far better to be pragmatic and calibrated about it, unlike the approach that the DOGEbags are taking – and it doesn’t take much to cover the cost of doing the studies. I am curious whether Controller Chris Hollins was involved in this part of it, since it’s his office that will be under the microscope, but there’s nothing in the story and I didn’t see anything on his Twitter feed. I remain unconvinced that all this will find more than modest savings, but as with many other things I’m happy to be proven wrong.
Whitmire is actively removing bike lanes. A popular bike lane on Austin St between Holman and Pierce has been removed with zero notice. I am guessing Heights Blvd is next. What a a$$ho.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/austin-street-bike-lane-20245635.php