Newsletter, TV show to offer
guide to complex city finances
Welcome
to Line Item, the monthly e-newsletter of the Houston city
controller. As Houston's 14th controller, one of my top priorities
will be improving communication between government and taxpayers.
Houstonians need to
know how the city is spending their tax dollars. And the better
the public understands city government, the better the suggestions
constituents can make for improving it and the more informed their
votes will be.
As an elected official,
I have received many great ideas from constituents. Some I was
able to transform into ordinances, such as Exotic Animals (1998)
and Natural Areas (2003). I look forward to your feedback as we
examine important financial topics.
My bi-monthly City Council
newsletters focused on information not readily available in the
media. My Controller's newsletter and Municipal Channel TV show
will continue that tradition as they highlight different aspects
of city finances in addition to more general subjects. Topics
may include:
- Audits (including performance audits);
- Budget;
- Debt;
- General fund;
- Enterprise funds;
- Local government corporations
(such as the Houston Convention Center Hotel);
- Special funds;
- Stadiums. (Although the city doesn't fund them, we receive many emails asking why we do.)
More and more elected officials are sending out e-newsletters. If you don't wish to receive this newsletter, type Unsubscribe in the subject line and hit return.
Daniel
Schein
Enthusiastic
applause greeted Mayor Bill White and Andrea White at the
inaugural
|
Mayor White begins his term
on high note of inclusiveness
When Mayor Bill White praised
new Council Member Pam Holm in his inaugural speech for taking
on the billboard industry, his inclusiveness signaled his administration's
new direction.
White was no less generous
in his remarks about other new Council Members Adrian Garcia,
Ronald Green, M.J. Kahn and Toni Lawrence as well as Council as
a strong partner. Inclusion has not always been the theme of new
administrations, and time will tell if this grand honeymoon gesture
will develop into a healthy marriage.
An appreciation for diversity
will be helpful. The new Council includes seven women, the most
ever; the city's first Muslim and South Asian-American elected
official; three African-Americans; two Hispanics; and one Asian-American.
Viewpoints will be diverse:
small business owners, a police officer, attorneys, community
activist-radio show host, non-profit director, standup comic,
physician, realtor, financial planner. MORE
No. 1 priority:
Find efficiencies
The mayor's new staff is scurrying
around City Hall trying to get settled in with one hand and working
frantically with the other hand to find Budget Efficiencies –
the new buzzwords.
I was waiting to get a new
ID badge, and one of the bright young stars of the White team
wanted to talk about how to reduce maintenance and security costs
in a particular department. Perhaps his frenetic pace is synchronized
with the budget clock ticking in his ears. Houston may have a
new and unseasonable weather, but budget season begins each January.
The mayor's staff works closely
with department heads and the financial staff to piece together
a balanced budget that will be presented to Council in May. On
a parallel track, the public gets its turn in late January and
February at annual budget/CIP (Capital Improvement Program) hearings.
Council members also have some input in the early stages through
their budget priorities submitted in March or April. Council must
pass an FY05 budget by July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.
The search for efficiencies
is already intense as a huge budget crisis looms for FY05. We
hope the recent minor upturn in the economy continues because
the city faces dramatic increases in the expense column, notably
a $50 million contractual raise for police and a $20-$30 million
jump in health insurance costs as well as pension fund underfunding.
