Overview
- Houston City Council approved the $7.5 billion FY2027 budget by a 15-1 vote on Wednesday, and the spending plan takes effect July 1.
- Controller Chris Hollins completed the charter-required certification but publicly warned that certification is not endorsement and criticized the budget’s transparency, assumptions and sustainability.
- The budget reclassifies solid waste as a utility, shifts about $134 million out of the General Fund into the Combined Utility System, and will add a $5 monthly trash administrative fee billed on water statements starting July 1.
- Council adopted and referred amendments that dedicate $3 million to illegal dumping efforts, seek limited fee relief for seniors and low-income residents through existing assistance funds, and require Houston Public Works to return with solid-waste performance metrics.
- City finance officials project the right-of-way charge on water and sewer revenues will generate roughly $100 million a year but Controller Hollins and others say the revenue depends on outside approvals and accounting steps that create near-term and long-term fiscal risk, and advocates warn the budget lacks clear service benchmarks for recycling and yard waste.