Houston City Council Members Avoid Cutting Their Own Office Budgets

For nearly one hour, the majority of  Houston city council discussed why they felt they could not cut their office budgets by an additional 2 – 3% to match the reduction Mayor Parker required of most city departments.

Proposed by council member Melissa Noriega and Al Hoang,  the reduction would have forced some council members to terminate employees and cut constituent services, according to those who were opposed to it.

CM Wanda Adams pointed out that some of her employees already work without the benefit of health insurance.  CM Mike Sullivan pointed out that he reimburses his staff for vehicle mileage, when they must drive around the district, stretching from Clear Lake to Kingwood, to meet with members of the public. 

Eventually, the proposal was withdrawn, much to the disappointment of CM Hoang who wanted a 3% cut.

His budget amendment was expected to save  taxpayers $109,000.

“I think it’s disingenuous to ask departments to cut their budgets, and not cut our own,” said Hoang. “We’re elected to lead by example not by decree.”

According to Hoang’s office the proposed council budget is almost $5.5 million. Had the cut been approved, the budget would have been reduced to $5,381,286.