Turner outlines goals in his first State of the City
Turner recaps other budgetary plans during first State of the City address
Mayor Sylvester Turner calls for a pension reform deal by the end of the year and asks voters to remove the city’s cap on property tax collections in 2017.
Stressing Houston’s financial challenges, Mayor Sylvester Turner outlined his two-year fiscal goals during his first State of the City address Wednesday, calling for a pension reform deal by the end of 2016 and asking voters to remove the city’s cap on property tax collections in 2017.
Turner also appointed former City Councilman Steve Costello as the city’s flood czar, a newly minted position designed to lead Houston’s flood mitigation efforts, noted the police department’s plan to transition 175 officers into patrol positions and reviewed his proposed budget for next fiscal year.
“There are certain realities that cannot be ignored; the increasing costs to the city simply cannot be sustained. We cannot, we cannot afford not to reach this deal,” Turner told a lunch audience of about 1,700, referring to Houston’s soaring pension obligations. “If we do not reach an agreement this year, come fiscal year 2018, city services will be adversely affected. Hundreds of employees will be laid off, and our credit rating will likely suffer, costing us a bit more. But this is a course we need not travel.”
The mayor’s hopeful, 27-minute address to the Greater Houston Partnership — the second scripted speech of his political career, he said — originally was scheduled for April 18 but was delayed by a deadly storm that flooded nearly 2,000 city homes and killed at least eight in Houston area.
Harris County Commissioner Jack Cagle introduced Turner by reciting an excerpt from Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham,”
in an attempt to illustrate the value of continuing to boost city-county cooperation.
“The new dish of collaboration between county and city and other entities is a wonderful dish that I like and that I believe this mayor likes as well,” Cagle said before Turner took the stage to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” ‘Blend together’
That upbeat tone soon turned more solemn as Turner recalled the devastation wreaked by last month’s flooding. He tasked Costello with updating city policies and coordinating with regional agencies to curb future flooding.
“We can never claim that we will eliminate flooding completely. Quite frankly that remains in God’s hands,” Turner said. “Butwe can as governmental leaders do everything we can to mitigate the risk.”
Costello, a civil engineer and unsuccessful 2015 mayoral candidate, said he expects to assume the full-time role in the next two weeks. At that point, he intends to sit down with Turner to determine existing regional funding for flood and drainage control, as well as identify potential short- and long-term mitigation strategies.
“Obviously there needs to be more of a regional and sub-regional approach to detention. That’s where Re Build can play an important role in terms of funding,” Costello said, referring to the city’s pay-asyou-go street and drainage repair program. “There’s always been this division of labor between the governmental entities where the city was responsible for drainage, and then the county was responsible for flood control. I think the two of them can blend together to where, with multiple funding sources, we can achieve both goals at the same time.” Curbing homelessness
Recalling the devastation April’s storm wreaked on the Greenspoint area, 15 miles north of downtown, Turner discussed the city’s progress on storm debris removal, as well as his decision to temporarily move more than 400 flood victims from shelters into hotels.
“For many people within our Houston region, this will be a long recovery. Many were already on the margins, and this storm exacerbated their problems,” Turner said. “And however much they choose to do it by themselves, they are going to require at least some continuous assis- tance for the short term.”
The mayor also reviewed his recent policy actions, namely the launch of a pothole repair program in January and, later, employment initiatives. He did not unveil any major new proposals, though he committed to working with the private sector and faith-based organizations to continue curbing homelessness, one of former Mayor An ni se Parker’ s top policy priorities.
After recapping his plan to close Houston’s $160 million budget gap by July, which awaits City Council’s approval, Turner delved into his objectives for fire, police and municipal pension reform: reduce Houston’s $5.6 billion unfunded liability, cut the city’s annual payments and have a deal ready for the state Legislature to consider during its 2017 session. ‘Sets realistic goals’
If pension reform passes, Turner said he would seek to repeal Houston’s voter-approved revenue cap, which limits property tax collection, by placing the measure on the November 2017 ballot.
“The revenue cap works against creating one Houston, with opportunity for all and an ability to address pressing needs like flooding, transportation … and mobility, parks and added green space, affordable workforce housing and homelessness,” Turner said.
Councilwoman Ellen Cohen lauded Turner’s presentation as frank.
“Even with the challenges we have, according to what he said today, he feels that we’re going to be able to overcome those challenges, and I agree with him,” Cohen said. “As evidenced by what his goals were, particularly in terms of when he started out with potholes, he’s seems to be the kind of individual who sets realistic goals for himself and the people that work for him.”
Councilman Dave Martin also noted Turner’s can-do spirit but added that he wants to see the city implement additional operational efficiencies before looking to lift the revenue cap.
“They’re looking at us and saying, ‘Fix your own shop before you come to us and ask us for more tax dollars,’ ” Martin said, relaying what he views as the perspective of his constituents. “‘If you can fix it and we still have an issue, then we’ll be glad to give you our tax dollars. But not until you fix the broken structure that we see within the city.’ ”