Fiscal Responsibility

Message from the Mayor

 

Mayor Annise Parker

 

My number one priority as your mayor is fiscal responsibility.  Achieving this during a tight economy requires a willingness to make tough decisions.

 

When I arrived in the mayor’s office, the city was facing a $205 million gap between anticipated spending and available revenues.  The economy had pushed down our revenue pool while expenditures were rising due to contractual obligations for health insurance, pensions and employee pay agreed to prior to my arrival.  Through a combination of operational consolidations, expenditure reductions, personnel cutbacks, sales of surplus land, cost of service increases and employee furloughs, we have been able to close that gap.

 

This webpage will provide a detailed look at the tough decisions we’ve been making, and will continue to make, as we work to institutionalize this new approach to financial management.

 


Balancing the FY2011 and FY2012 Budgets

 

 

Click graphic below for full-sized versions in .jpg

 

City of Houston Deficit Bridge


Economic Development

 

By the end of March 2012, the City of Houston recorded $1.041 billion of new economic investment, resulting in more than 13,000 new jobs.

 

 

 

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FY2012 Implemented Initiative Detail (A and B)

 

Implemented Initiative Detail A Implemented Initiative Detail B


An Overview of Grant Awards to City of Houston

 

The City of Houston recognizes the significant impact that federal, state and private grant programs have in providing vital public services and improving the quality of life of every Houstonian. Over the years, the City has been able to fund important public improvement projects, promoted neighborhood revitalization, supported sustainability initiatives, enhanced public safety, and provided numerous other programs and services that would have been impossible to pay for without grant funds. Further, as more and more citizens struggle in the current economic climate, government assistance—particularly grants—will provide an increasingly important safety net for our most vulnerable citizens ...

 

Long Range Financial Mgmt Task Force

 

Houston City Council has formed a 16-member Long-Range Financial Management Task Force to develop alternatives for protecting the City’s financial health for the next 30 years.  The panel will review health care costs, pension obligations and debt.  Click here to see the presentations from the group’s first meeting.

 

Accounts Receivable & Collections

 

Updates below are .pdf unless otherwise indicated

 

Tax Collections

 

The following are the governmental taxes that the City of Houston collects:

 

  • Property Taxes – City's current rate is $0.63875 / per $100 taxable value
  • Sales Taxes – Total state and local tax rate is 8.25%.
    • Composition of the total tax rate is as below:
      • State collects 6.25%,
      • METRO (Transit) collects 1% and
      • City collects 1%
  • Hotel Occupancy Taxes – Total state and local tax rate is 17%
    • Composition of the total tax rate is as below:
      • State collects 6%;
      • County collects 2%,
      • Houston-Harris County Sports Authority collects 2% and City collects 7%
  • Mixed Beverage Taxes – State tax rate is 14% on the mixed beverage sales
    • City collects 10.7143% of the total amount paid for any businesses located within the City.
  • Bingo Taxes – State tax rate is 5% of the amount or value of all bingo prizes awarded City collects 2.5% of the prizes won

Help the City Save Money

 

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eVendor Disbursement

 

The Controller's Office is responsible for Houston's cash disbursements. City Controller Ronald C. Green has made these daily payment records available to increase office transparency and show the nature of payments made by the City. If you are a City supplier or have questions about the nature of a specific payment, please contact the Department you are currently working with. For additional information on specific payments please contact our City Vendor Liaison. The data contained on this website is for informational purposes only.