Ashby high-rise low point in city development
City Controller Annise Parker strongly opposes the proposed 23-story high-rise on two-lane Bissonnet and urges City Council to pass form-based ordinances limiting the size and mass of such buildings in relation to surrounding neighborhoods.
"If the Ashby project is allowed to go forward as planned there is no doubt it will bring a decreased quality of life for residents in the surrounding Southampton neighborhood, a loss of privacy and a negative impact on their property values," Parker said.
She noted that what is happening in Southampton could happen in any Houston neighborhood. Parker favors quick approval of new regulations requiring traffic impact analysis and appropriate traffic mitigation for any high-density development. If mitigation is not feasible, building permits should be denied.
"We don't have zoning. Rather than focus on that, we need to 
create ordinances that will work with what we do have," the city controller said.
She believes the city should consider mass/scale/density ordinances that would guide high-rise development to major thoroughfares or the perimeter of residential areas.
For more information, or to sign the petition against the project, see: www.stopashbyhighrise.org/
Minimum lot size "condo" loophole still open
Houston City Council has missed the opportunity to solve the problem of overdevelopment in Houston's established inner-city neighborhoods with minimum lot size restrictions, City Controller Annise Parker said this week.
The ordinance prevents subdividing a lot below the minimum lot size. Some developers were attempting to circumvent the ordinance by building condominiums, which are not subdivided.
Utilizing a density approach, neighborhood groups presented several workable plans. These proposals were rejected when City Council opted to provide only limited protection. The new ordinance protects existing single-family lots but not multi-family or commercial properties.
If you live on a designated minimum lot size block with any multi-family or commercial entities, a situation that exists in many of Houston's
older, inner-city neighborhoods, you will not be protected from the 23-story type of high-rise development the residents of Southampton and Boulevard Oaks are fighting right now. Council has prohibited a single-family residence from being turned into condos, but still allows existing commercial or multi-family property to be converted.
The intent of the original lot size ordinance, which Parker sponsored as a council member, was to provide inner-city neighborhoods without deed restrictions a tool for achieving predictability. She also sponsored the block setback ordinance.
Parker said higher density should not come at the expense of property owners who invested in inner-city neighborhoods early on. "These neighborhoods are not candidates for urban renewal. They are assets worthy of the protection their residents have repeatedly asked for."
Final tax rate public hearing Wednesday
The state tax code requires that cities accept appraisal district's certified property tax rolls before setting a tax rate. Certified tax rolls are usually available in October. Since the city's fiscal year ends June 30, the mayor based his FY2008 $1.9 billion budget on a projected property tax roll with a tax cut of 1/8 of a cent. Although council overwhelmingly passed the budget, they could vote to cut the tax rate more or leave it at 64.5 cents per $100 valuation based on the final appraisal numbers. The mayor's latest tax cut proposal would save the owner of a $100,000 home about $1.25 a year.
"According to preliminary calculations done by my staff, the proposed tax rate of .64375 will be in line with the revenue restrictions of Propositions 1 and 2," Parker said. The 2004 voter-approved revenue caps require that the city limit property tax revenue increases to population and inflation growth. (Implementation of Proposition 2 is being litigated.) These limits can be exceeded up to $90 million for public safety expenditures.
The City Controller's Office will publish final calculations prior to the November 7 tax rate vote. The final public tax rate hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday in City Council chambers.
City property tax appraisals have risen nearly 12 percent over last year, up from $120 billion to $134 billion this year. About $3 billion of that comes from new construction, not increased appraisals. Total appraised value of property within the city is $4.5 billion higher than anticipated at budget time, prompting the City Controller's Office to increase property tax projections by $24.4 million.
Annual plan includes 8 performance audits
"We're adding two auditors and gearing up for the most aggressive audit plan in recent memory," City Controller Annise Parker said.
To carry out such a comprehensive plan, the City Controller's Office contracts with outside audit firms to perform some audits. The city controller did not have the authority to initiate performance audits until voters approved a charter amendment in 2004.
Performance Audits
• Building Services, Energy Management
Review structure, operations, resources, management controls and processes related to procurement of electricity, natural gas, and, possibly, liquid fuels.
• Finance and Administration, Strategic Purchasing
Review procurement services, including bidding and proposal process, requisition and purchase order
procedures, and contract preparation issuance and monitoring.
• Libraries, Book Procurement and Distribution
Assess book procurement and distribution, including rotation and disposition of books, with special focus on identifying existing internal controls and testing reliability.
• Information Technology,
SAP Security
Assess security of SAP, the city's new financial operating system.
• Affirmative Action & Contract Compliance
Examine operational practices, resources, technology tools and internal controls.
• Parks, Greenspace 
Management
Conduct performance review of park grounds maintenance.
• Planning, various sections
Assess section activities.
• Public Works Code Enforcement
Review activities.
Compliance Audits
Review Aviation's hotel concessionaire, privatized golf courses, citywide purchasing card activity, citywide selected disbursements and citywide vehicle allowances.
Financial Audit
Review citywide SAP Construction/Bond Status Report to determine whether data maintained in report is sufficiently reliable to support continuing certification of funds by the Controller's Office.
Special Projects
The Audit Division will address special projects as requested by the mayor, city controller, City Council and department directors. Projects also will be initiated as a result of information received from taxpayers, vendors and city employees. Projects include:
• City Controller's Office external audit assistance;
• Auditing services requested by Office of Inspector General;
• Computer-assisted auditing tools & techniques;
• TIRZ funds comparison.
Follow-Up Audits
• Fire Department Life Safety Bureau;
• Houston Police Department Property Room;
• 311 Houston Service Helpline;
• Solid Waste (review contracted collection and disposal functions);
• Municipal Courts Administration Department.
City auditors launch parks, parking reviews
The first performance review will examine everything related to park grounds, including esplanades. Council Member Adrian Garcia requested the audit. The underground parking review, requested by Council Member Toni Lawrence, will focus on efficiency, security, safety and employee training.
City auditors are also wrapping up an extensive four-month audit of Houston Police Department laser use.
City Controller Annise Parker, who serves on the stakeholders committee that investigated the troubled Police Department Crime Lab, applauds the appointment of Judge Mary Bacon and a three-attorney panel to review approximately 180 convictions involving suspicious crime lab evidence.
"This won't resolve all remaining questionable convictions, but it is the critical next step," she said.
Parker had earlier urged the mayor to appoint a special master to review the critical cases as quickly as possible.
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The new municipal employee pension funding commitment allows the city to trim the $1 billion in pension underfunding at a faster clip while maintaining benefits for current employees.
Like many public and private entities, however, the city will scale back pension benefits for employees hired after January 1, 2008 by placing them in a new defined benefit program with smaller pensions. New hires would also not be able to retire as young as 50, but would have to wait until at least 62.
The new plan requires the city to contribute these amounts:
• FY 08, $75.0 million;
• FY 09, $78.5 million;
• FY 10, $83.5 million;
• FY 11, $88.5 million.
The plan will keep the city's contribution at about 15% of payroll. According to projections, the contribution may creep upward initially and then begin to decline as the impact of the changes for new hires begin to have an impact.
For more information about the new pension plan, please see: www.hmeps.org/benefit_provisions/Fourth%20Amendment.pdf