[Budget and Fiscal Affairs on December 3, 2024.]
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STAFF.UM, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE AND IN CHAMBERS COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER.
I THINK WE ALSO HAVE, UH, THE MAYOR PRO TEM ONLINE, AND I BELIEVE TWILA COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER MAY BE ONLINE AND WALKING IN WITH HER CENTRAL MARKET SMOOTHIE IS COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN, UM, FROM DISTRICT C.
SO WE HAVE AN INTERESTING AGENDA TODAY, SO WE'LL GET RIGHT TO IT.
WE'LL START WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
I KNOW WILL JONES WILL BE REPRESENTING THE CONTROLLER AND WHO IS REPRESENTING, UH, I DON'T SEE MELISSA DEBOWSKI FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
IS ANYONE REPRESENTING HER FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT? OKAY.
UM, AND, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH YOU CONTROLLER WILL JONES, DEPUTY CONTROLLER.
WILL JONES, FORMER FINANCE DIRECTOR AND FRIEND TO ALL.
ALRIGHT, UH, GOOD MORNING MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND STAFF.
UM, I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED OCTOBER 31ST, 2024.
THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 296.4 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.
THIS IS 17.6 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
THE DIFFERENCE IS DUE TO A LOWER REVENUE PROJECTION THAN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 107 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET HOLDING OF 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THE FY 25 BEGINNING FUND BALANCE IS 35.6 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE FYY 2024 ENDING FUND BALANCE REPORTED IN THE JUNE 30TH, 2024 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
THE INCREASES DUE TO YEAR END ADJUSTMENTS TO REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES THAT WILL NOT BE FINAL UNTIL THE FY 2024 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IS PUBLISHED.
WE HAVE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY 28.4 MILLION FROM THE SEPTEMBER, 2024 REPORT TO REFLECT THE FOLLOWING, AN INCREASE OF 25.7 MILLION IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL DUE TO REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT EXPENSES.
AN INCREASE OF 2.7 MILLION IN MISCELLANEOUS OTHER DUE TO A REFUND FOR HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION FOR THE, UH, BRIDGE LIGHTING, AN INCREASE OF 0.6 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED, UH, LAND SALES, A DECREASE OF 0.5 MILLION IN, IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED CHARITY CARE PROGRAM REIMBURSEMENT.
SO IN OUR EXPENDITURES, WE HAVE DECREASED OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION BY 16.1 MILLION FROM THE SEPTEMBER, 2024 REPORT AS FOLLOWS, A DECREASE OF 21.8 MILLION IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS REFLECTING THE TRANSFER OF STREETLIGHT ELECTRICITY COSTS TO THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE STREET AND RENEWAL FUND, METRO ET ALL FOR REIMBURSEMENT BY METRO.
A DECREASE OF 3 MILLION IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT FOR, UH, ELECTION COST SAVINGS, AN INCREASE OF 0.7 MILLION ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS FOR UNSPENT CITY COUNCIL.
OPERATING FUNDS CARRIED OVER FROM THE PRIOR YEAR AN INCREASE OF 1 MILLION IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT FOR VEHICLE TRACKING ROUTING AND PERFORMANCE.
AN INCREASE OF 1 MILLION IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE OVERTIME CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
AN INCREASE OF 2.5 MILLION IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO SUPPORT THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED ETHAN HEALTH LGC.
AN INCREASE OF 3.5 MILLION IN CITY COUNCIL TO REFLECT UNUTILIZED COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS FROM THE PRIOR YEAR AND AN INCREASE OF 11.4 MILLION ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS FOR THE HOPE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT, PAY RATE, PAY INCREASES, OFFSET BY TRANSFER FROM GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS.
UH, WE MADE THE FOLLOWING ADJUSTMENTS IN THE AVIATION AVIATION OPERATING FUND.
OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY 3.8 MILLION TO ACCOUNT FOR THE HOPE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT.
NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 3.8 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOL INVESTMENTS.
AND THE DEDICATED DRAIN AND STREET RENEWAL REFUND.
OPERATING EXPENSES AND REVENUES INCREASED BY 2020 1.8 MILLION TO ACCOUNT FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE STREET LIGHT.
ELECTRICITY CALLS FROM GENERAL FUND, WHICH WILL BE A REIMBURSED BY METRO.
WE ARE PROJECTING NO CHANGES, UH, FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTH'S REPORT AND THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM OPERATING FUND, CONVENTION, UH, CONVENTION, ENTERTAINMENT, OPERATING FUND, STORMWATER FUND, AND THE OTHER DEDICATED DRAINAGE
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FUNDS FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PUR PAPER BONDS.UH, CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF DEBT AND VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE.
AS OF OCTOBER 31ST, 2024, THE RATIO OF UNHEDGED VARIABLE RATE DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF OUTSTANDING DEBT WAS BELOW THAT THRESHOLD.
AND FINALLY ON YESTERDAY, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, IN COLLABORATION WITH UNITED AIRLINES, SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED ON A 1.1 BILLION BOND TRANSACTION FOR THE AIRPORT SYSTEM, SPECIAL FACILITIES REVENUES BOND SERIES 2024 B TO FINANCE THE REDEVELOPMENT OF TERMINAL B AT THE GEORGE BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT.
THE FINAL STRUCTURE ACHIEVED ALL-IN COST CAPITAL BELOW 5% WITH STRONG INVESTOR DEMAND.
THANK YOU TO THE, THE CITY'S ENTIRE FINANCE WORKING GROUP, BANK OF AMERICA SECURITIES, THE UNITED AIRLINES, AND ALL STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED, UH, FOR THEIR EXCEPTIONAL EFFORT IN DELIVERING, UH, THIS IMPORTANT TRANSACTION FOR THE CITY AND ITS AIRPORT SYSTEMS. AND THANK YOU.
THANK YOU DEPUTY CONTROLLER, UM, DIRECTOR DEBOSKY.
OH, AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER MARYANNE HUFFMAN TO THE HORSESHOE.
THIS IS THE FOUR PLUS EIGHT FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING OCTOBER 31ST, 2024.
FISCAL YEAR 25 PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON FOUR MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS AND EIGHT MONTHS OF PROJECTIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
THE REVENUES SIDE, OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS 15.7 MILLION LOWER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET, BUT 18.8 MILLION, UM, LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
UH, THE VARIANCE IN THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION IS DUE TO THE $46 MILLION DECREASE IN PROPERTY TAX REVENUE.
UM, I BELIEVE THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE REFLECTED THIS, UM, CHANGE IN THE LAST MONTHLY REPORT.
UH, SO WE'RE, UM, IN LINE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THEM ON THE PROPERTY TAXES.
NOW, UM, THAT IS LOWER, UH, IT'S LOWER DUE TO THE, UH, LOWER ADOPTED, UH, TAX RATE, THE KEEPING THE CURRENT TAX RATE OF THE 51.92 CENTS PER A HUNDRED DOLLARS OF ASSESSED VALUATION.
ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WE'RE ALSO DECREASING THE MIXED BEVERAGE, UM, TAX ESTIMATE BY 941,000 DUE TO LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED RECEIPTS.
ON A POSITIVE NOTE, THOUGH, WE'RE INCREASING INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUE, UH, BY 25.1 MILLION, PRIMARILY DUE TO REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO, UH, FOR THE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT DIVISION.
UH, WE ALSO ARE INCREASING THE MISCELLANEOUS OTHER BY 2.7 MILLION DUE TO THE ANTICIPATED REFUND FROM HOUSTON.
FIRST FOR THE BRIDGE LIGHTING PROJECT, UH, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO, UH, HAVE AN INCREASE IN SALE OF CAPITAL ASSETS OF 595,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED LAND SALES YEAR TO DATE.
WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY CHANGES TO THE PROJECTION FOR THIS MONTH, UH, FOR SALES TAX.
BUT, UH, JUST, UM, TO GO OVER THE RECEIPTS, THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE, THE SALES TAX RECEIPTS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER WERE 77.1 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 0.36% HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, AND IS ABOUT 3.65% HIGHER THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED FOR THAT PERIOD.
SO TO MEET THE CURRENT ESTIMATE OF $893 MILLION, THE REMAINING PERIODS NEED TO COME IN ABOUT 1% ABOVE THE PRIOR YEAR.
SO WE'RE ON TRACK FOR, UH, FOR OUR PROJECTIONS THERE.
BUT WE'LL MONITOR EVERY MONTH.
ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION IS 3.9 MILLION LOWER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 16.1 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
UH, THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH PROJECTION, UH, IS DUE PRIMARILY TO THE $21.8 MILLION DECREASE IN THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, UH, GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR OUR ESTIMATE FOR INTER FUND ELECTRICITY EXPENSES, WHICH ARE NOW BEING FUNDED WITH THE D-D-S-R-F METRO FUNDS.
UH, THERE ALSO IS A $3 MILLION DECREASE, UH, TO GENERAL GOVERNMENT FOR ELECTION SAVINGS AND $11.4 MILLION INCREASE ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTAL ESTIMATES TO REFLECT THE HOPE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT, WHICH IS OFFSET BY THE AMOUNT IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS WHERE WE BUDGETED, UH, TO HAVE THAT INCREASE FOR.
YOU ALSO SEE A $3.5 MILLION INCREASE IN THE CITY COUNCIL ESTIMATE, UM, FOR PRIOR YEAR UNDERUTILIZED COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS THAT WILL BE, UH, ROLLED OVER AND ALLOWED TO BE USED IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN A FEW ITEMS THAT YOU'VE SEEN COME TO COUNCIL AGENDA, UM, INCLUDING A $2.5 MILLION INCREASE TO, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT THE ETHAN HEALTH LGC CREATION, UH, FUNDING FOR THAT.
UM, WE'RE ALSO, UH, ANOTHER ITEM THAT WENT TO COUNCIL RECENTLY IS THE RUBICON, UM, VEHICLE TRACKING ROUTING AND PERFORMANCE SYSTEM FOR THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, YOU ALSO SEE A $1 MILLION INCREASE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR OVERTIME CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
UM, THE LAST ITEM ON THE EXPENDITURES IS $758,000
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INCREASE, UH, IN VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO REFLECT UNSPENT CITY COUNCIL FUNDS FROM PRIOR YEAR THAT'S BEEN, UM, ALLOCATED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS.SO WITH THE CHANGES TO THE REVENUES AND THE EXPENDITURES, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE TO BE 314 MILLION, WHICH IS 2.7 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH, AND REPRESENTS 12.4% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES.
LET LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THAT AMOUNT IS 124.5 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE ONE NOTE ABOUT THE FUND BALANCE.
YOU WILL SEE IN FUTURE REPORTING PERIODS, ONCE THE UM, ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IS FINALIZED AND RELEASE, THERE WILL BE UPDATES TO THE FY 25 BEGINNING FUND BALANCE TO ALIGN WITH THE FY 24 ENDING.
UM, AND SO YOU'LL SEE FUTURE AND FUTURE REPORTING PERIODS, THERE WILL BE CHANGES TO THE FUND BALANCE, UM, THAT WILL PRESENT AT THAT TIME.
SO MOVING ON TO THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE AND OTHER FUNDS, UM, THESE ARE THE FOLLOWING CHANGES IN THE AVIATION OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY 3.8 MILLION TO REFLECT THE HOPE MEET AND CONFER AND NON-OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 3.8 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED INTEREST ON POOLED INVESTMENTS.
UM, FOR THE D-D-S-R-F, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CHANGES YOU SAW IN THE GENERAL FUND, THE REVENUES ARE INCREASING BY 21.8 MILLION DUE TO THE REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO FOR THE STREETLIGHT AND TRAFFIC SIGNAL ELECTRICITY COSTS.
AND THEN YOU ALSO SEE THE EXPENDITURES INCREASE BY 21.8 MILLION, WHICH IS THE TRANSFER INTO THE GENERAL FUND THAT I SPOKE ABOUT WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND HIGHLIGHTS.
UM, I WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO PAGE 12 OF THE REPORT.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT FOR THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST MONTH THAT WE'RE INCLUDING IT IN THE PUBLISHED REPORT.
THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE ESTIMATES AND THE YEAR TO DATE ACTUALS RELATED TO THE DERECHO AND THE BARREL EVENTS FROM, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR.
SO, UH, JUST TO DISCUSS BRIEFLY TOUCHING ON THE DEBRIS REMOVAL PORTION, WHICH IS THE CATEGORY A.
UM, AS OF OCTOBER 31ST, WE HAD PAID $73.6 MILLION IN INVOICES ON DEBRIS REMOVAL.
UH, WE HAD ALSO RECEIVED, UM, FUNDING OF 57 MILLION IN ADVANCED FEMA FUNDING, UM, ACROSS THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
AND THAT WAS, IN A LARGE PART, I WANNA THANK, UM, THE TEAM IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO OUR STATE PARTNERS, UM, AND OF COURSE FEDERAL PARTNERS TO SECURE THAT, UM, THAT ADVANCED FUNDING SO THAT WE COULD HAVE SEED MONEY TO START PAYING THOSE INVOICES.
UM, SO THESE NUMBERS HERE REFLECT EVERYTHING THROUGH OCTOBER.
UM, IN THE MONTH OF DEC IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, UH, WE RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL $15 MILLION OF FUNDING, UM, FROM T THAT'S FEMA FUNDING THAT TATUM HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, SENT THROUGH TO US.
UH, AND THAT REPRESENTS THE 25% LOCAL SHARE OF THE FUNDING THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ADVANCED TO US.
SO I DID WANNA RECOGNIZE THE HARD WORK OF ALL THE STAFF IN THE SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AS WELL.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD TO GET THE INVOICES TURNED AROUND VERY QUICKLY.
UM, OF COURSE WE HAVE TO REVIEW, THERE'S A, A LOT OF PROCESS AND CHECKPOINTS AND DOCUMENTATION THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S FEDERALLY REIMBURSABLE.
UM, AND THE STATE IS ALSO ASKING FOR A QUICK TURNAROUND ON INVOICES PAID ONCE THEY SEND MONEY TO US.
SO IT'S A VERY QUICK TURNAROUND TIME AND I WANTED TO, TO THANK THE DEPARTMENTS AND ESPECIALLY ALSO THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN REALLY GOOD PARTNERS IN THAT OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS.
SO I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE DEMONSTRATED TO THE STATE THAT WE CAN MEET THEIR REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN PLACE FOR THAT ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE THAT THEY ARE GIVING TO US ON THE DISASTER ON THE DEBRIS COSTS.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE, UM, THE FEDERAL PARTNERS AND OF COURSE AT OUR, UH, AT THE LOCAL LEVEL TOO.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH CON UH, DEPUTY CONTROLLER AND DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI.
UM, FIRST IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
UM, THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATIONS, UH, ON BOTH OF YOUR SUMMARIES ON THE FRONT PAGE.
UH, WHEN YOU IDENTIFY INCREASING REVENUE PROJECTIONS, UM, EACH OF YOU INCLUDES A BULLET POINT IN INCREASE OF 2.7 MILLION DUE TO A REFUND FROM HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION FOR BRIDGE LIGHTING.
AND WE HAVE HOUSTON FIRST IN THE AUDIENCE, SO I WILL BE ASKING THEM THIS, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT REFERS TO? SO, UM, IN LAST CALENDAR YEAR, THERE WAS AN ITEM THAT WENT TO COUNCIL WHERE WE, UM, COUNCIL APPROVED GENERAL FUND MONIES TO BE SENT TO HOUSTON FIRST FOR A BRIDGE LIGHTING PROGRAM.
AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE BRIDGE LIGHTING REPAIRS OR, UM, IT'S NO LONGER, THAT PROJECT IS NO LONGER GOING FORWARD A PRIORITY FOR THIS ADMINISTRATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT PROJECT IS NO
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LONGER MOVING FORWARD.SO COUNSEL APPROVED AN ITEM FOR BRIDGE LIGHTING THAT RESIDENTS HAD REQUESTED, SPECIFICALLY JUST FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND THE HORSESHOE, SPECIFICALLY TO THE MONTROSE BRIDGES THAT ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF MAINTENANCE.
AND THERE IS AN AGREEMENT STRUCK.
AND NOW EVEN THOUGH COUNSEL HAS VOTED ON SOMETHING THAT IS NOW BEING REDIRECTED, IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S BEING REDIRECTED.
IT'S GOING BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND.
IT IS NO LONGER BEING USED FOR THE PURPOSE THAT COUNCIL APPROVED IT FOR.
UH, AND I'LL BE ASKING HOUSTON FIRST ABOUT THAT.
DIRECTOR DEBOSKY, I NOTICED WE'RE GETTING A SIZABLE, UH, INCREASE FROM REIMBURSEMENT FROM METRO FOR TRACK TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT OCCURS YEARLY OR IS THAT, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS NEW THIS YEAR? NO, THIS IS A NEW INITIATIVE.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH METRO, UH, TO COLLABORATE.
UM, YOU SEE ALSO ABOUT THE STREET LIGHTING AND THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL, ELECTRICITY MM-HMM
SO THOSE ARE TWO NEW INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH METRO TO, UM, WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM TO SECURE FUNDING.
I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT THE STREETLIGHTS TOO, 'CAUSE I DON'T REMEMBER THAT.
UM, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THE DERECHO AND BARREL.
UM, THE 26 MILLION FROM STATE REIMBURSEMENT, IS THAT THE MONEY WE GOT FROM THE STATE FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL OR IS THAT ANOTHER CATEGOR CATEGORY? IT'S IN THE TOP AND THE REVENUES COMBINED.
REVENUES INFLOWS 26 MILLION MM-HMM
SO THAT'S, UH, AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT WE THINK THE FINAL STATE REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT WILL BE.
AND THAT'S A STATE REIMBURSEMENT.
THAT'S NOT THE MONEY WE'RE GETTING FROM THE STATE FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL? OR IS IT THE SAME THING? IT'S PART, PART OF IT.
SO, UM, WHAT THE STATE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MONEY THAT TEEM HAS SENT US, SOME OF WHAT TEEM HAS SENT US IS FEDERAL MONIES THAT FEMA HAS SENT THAT.
SO THAT WOULD BE IN THAT 50 57 MILLION.
THAT WOULD BE THE, THAT'S THE, THAT REPRESENTS THE, A PORTION OF THE 75% FEDERAL SHARE.
AND THE STATE REIMBURSEMENT PART IS THE, WOULD REPRESENT THE 25% THAT WOULD BE THE LOCAL SHARE THAT THE STATE IS, UM, REIMBURSING US FOR.
SO THE GREG ABBOTT ANNOUNCEMENT YES.
THAT OF THAT 50 MILLION, WE'RE GONNA GET 26 MILLION BASED ON THE CURRENT ESTIMATES.
AND HAS OUR OVERALL ESTIMATE DECREASED? I REMEMBER IT BEING 211 MILLION AND NOW WE'RE AT MORE 9 0 90 2 MILLION.
UM, ON THE, UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, AND I KNOW I'M BEATING A, A, THE AND DEAD HORSE AGAIN, BUT VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE, AND THE CONTROLLER RECOGNIZED THIS LAST MONTH, BUT THE $46.2 MILLION DECREASE IN GENERAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE.
THAT IS BECAUSE WE LEFT OUR TAX RATE EXACTLY THE SAME.
CAN YOU SAY THAT NUMBER AGAIN? 46.1 FOR $2 MILLION BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THOSE YEARS THAT THE VALUATIONS WERE SUCH DID NOT GROW AS MUCH, THAT A 1.70 CENT INCREASE WOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED BY THE VOTER IMPOSED PROPERTY TAX.
THAT WOULD'VE YIELDED THAT $46.2 MILLION BECAUSE WE KEPT THE TAX RATE EXACTLY THE SAME.
AND THAT'S IN ADDITION TO THE $230 MILLION DEFICIT THAT WAS PROJECTED.
I KNOW SOME OF THAT'S BEING ADJUSTED, BUT WE ARE CREEPING EVERY MONTH A LITTLE CLOSER TO THAT $230 MILLION DEFICIT.
SO I DO WANNA ASK YOU ABOUT THE ERNST AND YOUNG REPORT AND WHEN WE CAN EXPECT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO TACKLE NOT JUST THAT, BUT THIS 46 MILLION.
UM, SO WE HAVE RECEIVED, UM, AN INITIAL, UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY A DRAFT, IT'S NOT A DRAFT REPORT, BUT SOME INITIAL FINDINGS FROM THE ERNST AND YOUNG REPORT.
UM, AND WE ARE, WE PLAN TO BE, UH, PRESENTING THAT REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
WELL, THAT, THAT'S JUST A FEW WEEKS, SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
UH, ON THE, ON THE, UM, THE, UH, ENTERPRISE FUNDS, YOU, YOU SAY THE HOPE COST FOR AVIATION, WHERE'S THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS HOPE COST? IS THAT IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET? OR HOW, HOW IS THAT, HOW IS THAT FIGURED? NO, SO WE DIDN'T MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENT TO THE PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, IT COULD BE THAT THEY CAN ABSORB IT, UH, WITH THE VACANCY SAVINGS THAT THEY HAVE.
WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR ACROSS ALL THE FUNDS.
SO THAT'S IN, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE
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PART OF THE OPERATING BUDGET.'CAUSE I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT IN THERE AND I BELIEVE THAT IS IT.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE.
APPRECIATE YOUR REPORTS AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
UM, ON NOVEMBER 7TH, UH, BILL KING CALLED ME AND SAID THAT HE WAS, UH, CONTRIBUTING TO A REPORT BEING DONE BY THE BAKER INSTITUTE, UM, LOOKING AT TAX INCREMENT ZONES AND ASKED, UH, ME IF HE COULD PRESENT IF THIS REPORT COULD BE PRESENTED BY MR. DIAMOND.
DIAMOND, I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE DR.
WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU ALL THE ACCOLADES.
AND HE ASKED THAT, UH, THIS REPORT BE PREVIEWED AND SUMMARIZED AT THE AN UPCOMING BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT THIS IS NOT AN ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
THIS IS NOT A DEPARTMENTAL REPORT.
THIS IS A BAKER INSTITUTE REPORT THAT I THINK WILL BE INTERESTING FOR ALL OF US.
I HAVE ASKED, UM, OUR ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR GWEN TILLSON ABOUT IT.
I ASKED HER TO ATTEND AND SHE SAID SHE WOULD RATHER ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR GWEN TILLSON ABOUT THIS REPORT.
SHE ASKED THAT THEY BE PUT IN WRITING TO HER.
I DID ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO BE HERE.
HE IS HERE IN CASE WE HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT T AND TURS LAW.
AND, AND I THINK THAT IT IS THE PLAN OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO COME AT A LATER DATE, EITHER TO THIS COMMITTEE OR TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE TO FURTHER ADDRESS THIS REPORT AND, AND, AND TALK MORE ABOUTT.
BUT THAT WON'T BE, WE WON'T BE PRESENTING ANYTHING AT THIS MEETING.
THIS IS STRICTLY A BAKER INSTITUTE REPORT, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU WITH, HAVE YOU WITH US TODAY AND APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS.
UH, MR. DIAMOND, IF YOU'D LIKE TO JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND, AND GET STARTED.
UH, CHAIR KORN AND VICE CHAIR CASTILLO FOR INVITING ME.
I'M JOHN DIAMOND, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC FINANCE AT RICE UNIVERSITY'S BAKER INSTITUTE.
UH, I'M ALSO HOLDING MELISSA'S DEBOWSKI PHONE 'CAUSE SHE LEFT IT HERE ON ACCIDENT.
OH, I'LL, OH, I WAS GONNA SAY, I'LL TEXT HER TOO, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK.
UM, SO LET ME JUST START BY SAYING, SO, SO I APPRECIATE THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS OUR REPORT.
UH, THIS IS IN NO WAY A FINAL SAY.
THIS IS A BEGINNING OF A DISCUSSION.
OUR REPORT SPECIFICALLY COVERS ONE VERY NARROW TOPIC, BUT THERE IS A, UH, MUCH DEEPER, MUCH LARGER LITERATURE, WHICH I WILL DISCUSS AS WELL.
I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR THE CITY, AND I THINK IT, IT, IT GOES WELL BEYOND MY, MY FAIRLY LIMITED DISCUSSION TODAY.
UH, SO IF YOU MOVE ON, I, I, I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW THAT THE, THE TAX INCREMENT ZONES HAVE BEEN AROUND, UH, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE ALLOWED THIS.
HOUSTON'S BEEN FAIRLY ACTIVE CREATING 28 ZONES OVER TIME.
I THINK ONE ZONE VILLAGE ENCLAVES IS THE ONLY ONE TO BE CREATED AND THEN, UH, DONE AWAY WITH.
YOU KNOW, THE FIRST ONE WAS ST.
THE LATEST WAS TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, IN THE BEGINNING, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION, UH, WAS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO PLACES THAT WERE DISTRESSED THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WERE OF SUBSTANDARD OR HAD DETERIORATING STRUCTURES AND, AND NEEDED ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT.
THAT SEEMS TO HAVE SHIFTED A BIT OVER TIME AS YOU LOOK AT WHERE ZONES ARE CREATED, NOT JUST IN HOUSTON, BUT AROUND THE STATE.
UH, MANY ZONES ARE NOW BEING CREATED IN, IN VERY HIGH GROWTH AREAS.
UH, AND THAT THAT COMES WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF PROBLEMS THAN ZONES THAT ARE CREATED IN AREAS WHERE THERE'S ACTUALLY PROBLEMS WITH GROWTH OCCURRING.
SO IN AREAS WHERE YOU HAVE VERY, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE NON-EXISTENCE OF GROWTH IN WHICH I THINK, UH, IT'S A LITTLE MORE REASONABLE.
SO, UH, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I'LL JUST BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT OUR METHODOLOGY.
THERE'S SEVERAL WAYS YOU COULD HAVE DONE THIS.
AGAIN, I'M, I'M WORKING ON A LARGER PROJECT WHERE I LOOK ACROSS THE STATE.
I LOOK BOTH ACROSS LOCATIONS AND TIME.
UH, WE TRIED TO INCLUDE A TIME ELEMENT TO SOME EXTENT, BUT THE, THE, THE DATA PROCESS OF A LONGITUDINAL STUDY IS EXTENSIVE.
AND WE'LL TAKE A, YOU KNOW, YEARS, NOT MONTHS.
[00:25:01]
UM, SO WHAT WE DID WAS, WAS WE STARTED WITH JUST SIMPLE CENSUS TRACKS AS THEY'RE PRESENTED IN THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEYS, UM, DATASET, WE, WE FOUND ALL OF THE CENSUS TRACKS.AND THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE MAPS.
WHEN OF TEARS IS CREATED IN THE, IN THE BEGINNING CREATION DOCUMENTS, THEY ALWAYS HAVE THE MAP AND THEY LIST THE, THE CENSUS TRACKS AROUND THAT ZONE.
AND THAT, AND THAT, THAT'S INCLUDED IN EVERY CITY, UH, CREATION DOCUMENT THAT I'VE FOUND ONLINE SO FAR.
WE, WE JUST DID THE SAME THING.
WE WENT THROUGH AND JUST PICKED SOME OF THE, PICKED ALL OF THE CENSUS TRACKS WITHIN 500 FEET.
AND THEN WE HAD TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS.
'CAUSE SOME CENSUS TRACKS TOUCHED TWO ZONES.
AND SO WE HAD TO DECIDE, WELL, WHICH ONE ARE WE GONNA INCLUDE? WE ACTUALLY DID IT BOTH WAYS.
WE, WE LET 'EM OVERLAP AND INCLUDED 'EM ALL AND CALCULATED THE AVERAGE MEDIAN INCOMES.
AND THEN WE JUST KEPT THE ONES THAT WE THOUGHT, OKAY, WELL THIS CENSUS TRACK REALLY BELONGS OVER HERE AND NOT HERE.
'CAUSE IT'S CLOSER, UH, TO THIS TUR AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THAT ONE.
AND MAYBE THERE'S A MAJOR FREEWAY IN BETWEEN.
SO WE JUST MADE SIMPLIFYING ASSUMPTIONS IN, IN ORDER TO, TO ATTACH EACH CENSUS TRACK TO A TIERS OR TO NOT ATTACH IT TO A TIER AT ALL IF IT'S FAR ENOUGH AWAY.
UH, AND, AND THEN WE ADDED UP THE, THE MEDIAN INCOMES AND TOOK AN AVERAGE MEDIAN INCOME FOR EACH TIER OF ALL THE CENSUS TRACKS THAT WE SAID THIS ONE MOST LIKELY BENEFITS THE MOST FROM, FROM THIS ZONE.
UH, AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES, AND THEN JUST CONSIDERED SOME OF THE HISTORY, UH, OF EACH OF THE AREAS IN DECIDING WHICH TRACKS, WHICH CENSUS TRACK WENT WITH, WHICH, WHICH TIERS ALL OF THE DATA ON MEDIAN INCOME COMES FROM THE 2023, UH, SURVEY, THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, WHICH IS A, UH, YOU KNOW, DONE THROUGH THE CENSUS REPORT.
UH, YOU CAN GO BACK AND, AND I'VE HAD SOME COMMENTS ABOUT US NOT LOOKING BACK AND NOT CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONE TIERS WAS A LOW INCOME TIERS.
AND THEN WE CREATED THIS FUND AND IT BECAME A HIGH INCOME TIERS.
I, I, I WENT BACK AND LOOKED THROUGH.
SO, SO I WENT BACK TO 1999, UH, AND LOOKED ACROSS ABOUT 80 DIFFERENT CENSUS TRACKS AND, AND I DIDN'T FIND A SINGLE EXAMPLE OF THAT HAPPENING.
SO I'M NOT CONFIDENT THAT'S A EITHER A, A, A RELEVANT CRITICISM OR, OR A RELEVANT STORY FOR WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENED WITH THE TIERS, UH, SO TO SPEAK.
SO ONCE WE'VE, WE'VE CREATED THIS DATA SET, YOU GOTTA FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MEASURE THE BENEFITS OF A TIER ZONE THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY HARD.
UH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF ROOM FOR VARYING VIEWPOINTS ON WHAT THE BENEFIT IS.
IS THE, IS THE VIEWPOINT WHO USES IT, OR IS THE VIEWPOINT WHOSE PROPERTY INCREASES IN VALUE BECAUSE OF IT? OR IS IT BOTH? AS AN ECONOMIST, I THINK IT'S BOTH.
THERE'S A DIRECT BENEFIT IF, IF YOU OWN A PROPERTY AND A TIER ZONE INVEST $400 MILLION AND THAT RAISES YOUR PROPERTY VALUE, YOU OBVIOUSLY BENEFIT FROM THAT TEARS.
IF YOU'RE A CITIZEN OF HOUSTON AND YOU USE MEMORIAL PARK, THEN YOU OBVIOUSLY BENEFIT FROM MEMORIAL PARK.
I USED TO USE MEMORIAL PARK, UH, FIVE DAYS A WEEK TO RUN AGE BAD KNEES AND MOVING ACROSS TOWN HAVE ALL LIMITED THAT ACTIVITY.
AND I STARTED WALKING MEMORIAL PARK.
NOW, I DON'T GO TO MEMORIAL PARK, IT'S JUST TOO FAR AWAY.
UH, SO WHAT ARE OUR MEASURES OF BENEFITS? OUR, WE, WE CHOSE THREE.
UH, WE LOOK AT THE CURRENT TAX INCREMENT REVENUE, WHICH WE GET FROM, UH, THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS FROM EACH OF THE TIER ZONES.
WE LOOK AT THE PROJECT EXPENDITURES SINCE INCEPTION FOR EACH TIER ZONE, WHICH AGAIN, IS FROM THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT AND A TABLE IN THE REPORT THAT INCLUDES A TIME ELEMENT.
SO THAT GOES, THOSE ARE EXPENDITURES THAT WOULD'VE STARTED IN, IN THE LATE NINETIES OR WHENEVER THE ZONE WAS CREATED UP TO TODAY.
WHEREAS THE FIRST MEASURE IS JUST SIMPLY A MEASURE OF SPENDING IN 2023.
AND FINALLY, WE LOOK AT CAPTURED APPRAISED VALUE, WHICH IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BASE VALUE OF THE TIER ZONE AND, UH, THE CURRENT VALUE APPRAISED VALUE OF THE TIER ZONE.
UH, AND THE RESULTS FROM THAT ARE PRETTY CLEAR.
SO WE CAN SKIP TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE SHOW THAT IN AREAS WITH AN AVERAGE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME ABOVE $95,000, THAT'S, SO THE, THE MEDIAN INCOME IN HOUSTON IS 63,000.
SO THIS IS SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE IT'S 150% OR GREATER THAN THE, THAN THE MEDIAN INCOME.
WE SHOW THAT 68.5% OF THE CURRENT TAX INCREMENT IN 2023 IS SPENT IN THE HIGH INCOME
[00:30:01]
AREAS AND 76% OF THE EXPENDITURES TO DATE BY THE TSS.SO FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL NOW HAS BEEN SPENT IN THESE AREAS.
WE ALSO SHOW THAT THE TAX INCREMENT REVENUE AND THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR TIERS, UH, WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HIGHER HOUSEHOLD MEDIUM INCOME.
SO YOU CAN SEE THIS IN THE, IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO THE FIRST, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST TO SHOW IT REAL CLEARLY, THE BLUE BAR IS OR, OR IS, SO THE, ON THE LEFT YOU HAVE CURRENT TAX INCREMENT.
THE BLUE BAR IS THE HIGH INCOME PEOPLE, AND THE ORANGE BAR ARE PEOPLE WITH MEDIAN INCOME OR, OR AREAS WITH ME, AVERAGE MEDIAN INCOMES BELOW 95,000.
THE BLUE BARS AREAS WITH AVERAGE MEDIAN INCOME ABOVE 95,000.
CLEARLY WE'RE SPENDING MORE ON HIGHER INCOME AREAS THAN WE ARE ON LOWER INCOME AREAS IN TERMS OF TIERS FUNDED PROJECTS.
UH, AND THEN THE NEXT TWO SLIDES, JUST SO THE SHOW THE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP, UH, BETWEEN, UH, TOTAL EXPENDITURES AND AVERAGE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND TAX INCREMENT, CURRENT TAX INCREMENT AND HOUSEHOLD MEDIA AND INCOME.
YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SAY, I MEAN, PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MOST COMMON COMMENT WITH, WITH PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE THIS IS WHILE THE, THAT ONE DOT'S WAY UP THERE, THAT'S, THAT'S UPTOWN, UH, THE SECOND HIGHEST.IS MIDTOWN.
WHEREAS THEY ARE IN SOME SENSE, AN OUTLIER.
THEY'RE NOT REALLY AN OUTLIER BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THE DATA IS TELLING YOU.
IT'S NOT LIKE WE, WE DON'T EXPECT THIS TO HAPPEN, OR WE THINK THERE'S SOME DATA MISTAKE OR TH THIS, THIS IS THE FACT OF, OF, OF THE DATA.
ALTHOUGH THERE, THERE ARE ADJUSTMENTS.
SO, UH, THAT DOT REPRESENTS $862 MILLION IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS.
AND, AND, AND WE NOTED IN THE REPORTS THAT, UH, MONEY, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT ALL $862 MILLION HAS BEEN SPENT JUST ON INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT AREA.
UH, SOME 300 MILLION HAS GONE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PAYMENTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED MILLION WENT TO MEMORIAL PARK.
BUT I MEAN, I WOULD ARGUE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU TOLD, UH, IF, IF IF I LIVED OUTSIDE OF THAT AREA AND, AND CITY COUNCIL SAID WE'RE GONNA HAVE A $400 MILLION PROGRAM IN WHICH WE SPENT $400 MILLION IN UPTOWN, AND IN RETURN WE'RE GONNA GIVE THE REST OF THE CITY $300 MILLION IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PAYMENTS, I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT POLICY POLITICALLY.
UH, AND I THINK THAT'S AN INTERESTING WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT.
AND I, I THINK WHEN WE VOTE FOR TIERS, THAT'S, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE VOTING FOR.
WE'RE VOTING FOR A PATTERN OF EXPENDITURES, WHICH, WHICH IS VERY REGRESSIVE.
UH, AND I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED.
UH, SO THE NEXT SLIDE I TALK ABOUT THE OTHER ISSUE, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO ON THE ONE SIDE, THERE'S THIS IV OF THE SPENDING, WE GO ONE MORE SLIDE FORWARD.
UM, YOU, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ARGUMENT IS, WELL, BUT TIERS CAUSED A LOT OF GROWTH.
I MEAN, IF YOU SPEND $400 MILLION OR HONESTLY A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, I, I WOULD HOPE YOU GET A LOT OF GROWTH.
I MEAN, AS AN ECONOMIST, UH, BOY, YOU SHOULD GET MORE THAN WHAT YOU SPEND.
YOU SHOULD GET A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
AND, AND WE'VE ALL SEEN THE STANDARD GROWTH CHART FOR A TIERS.
THE, UH, IN THIS CHART, THE ORANGE BARS ARE THE BASE VALUE.
WE'LL COLLECT, UH, INCOME OFF OF THAT.
THE, THE FIRST THING I NOTE ABOUT THAT IS IT'S A, IT'S A, THOSE, THOSE VALUES DON'T CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF 30 YEARS, BUT AS WE'VE ALL RECENTLY EXPERIENCED, INFLATION DOES HAPPEN.
AND SO THE REAL VALUE OF THE BASE VALUE IS GOING DOWN.
AND, AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT'S A BIG IMPACT OVER A 30 YEAR PERIOD.
IT MAY NOT BE THAT IMPORTANT OVER A ONE OR TWO YEAR PERIOD.
UH, THE SECOND THING, OR THE BLUE LINES AND THE BLUE LINES ARE JUST IN A LOT OF THE CREATION DOCUMENTS, UH, THEY USE 4%.
I USED A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT GROWTH RATE TO JUST LOOK AT A HYPOTHETICAL VALUE OF LAND IN HOUSTON.
AND HOUSTON TIERS IS, UH, FROM 2000 TO 2026.
UH, AND THEN THE GRAY BARS ARE JUST THE ACTUAL VALUES.
UH, THE TAX INCREMENT IS BASED ON THE GRAY MINUS THE ORANGE.
BUT THE, THE ADDITIONAL GROWTH FROM TIERS IS JUST THE GRAY MINUS THE BLUE.
IT'S NOT THE GRAY MINUS THE ORANGE.
THEY JUST CAUSE EXTRA GROWTH ABOVE WHAT WE WOULD'VE SEEN IF THERE WAS NOT A TIER.
AND, AND THAT'S A HYPOTHETICAL NUMBER.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN.
I KNOW IT WOULDN'T BE ZERO, AND I KNOW IT WOULDN'T BE THE, THE LEVEL OF
[00:35:01]
THE GRAY BAR.I KNOW IT'S SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN THERE.
UH, BUT, BUT IT'S UNCERTAIN ON ON WHERE THAT IS.
SO IF WE GO FORWARD TO ANOTHER SLIDE, THERE'S BEEN A LOT WRITTEN IN THE ECONOMICS LITERATURE ON, UH, GROWTH FROM, FROM TIFFS OR TEARS AND, AND, AND IT'S ALL FAVORABLE.
UH, SO DIANE AND MERRIMAN HAVE WRITTEN TWO OF THE BEST ARTICLES TO THE MOST, UH, WELL DONE ARTICLES.
AND THEY FOUND THAT THAT CITIES WITH TIFFS GROW BETWEEN ONE AND 2% SLOWER THAN CITIES WITHOUT TIFFS.
AND THE REASONING IS THAT YOU JUST STEAL GROWTH FROM ONE AREA OF THE CITY TO PUT IT IN ANOTHER AREA.
AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU STEAL GROWTH FROM ONE AREA AND YOU CREATE CON CONGESTION EFFECTS, THE GROWTH REALLY ISN'T AS VALUABLE IF YOU HAD HAD A MORE DIVERSE SPREAD OUT AMOUNT OF GROWTH.
NOW, THAT'S NOT THE ONLY ARTICLES, AND WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WE SEE THAT, UH, DAVID, UH, MERRIMAN PROBABLY THE PREEMINENT SCHOLAR ON THIS ISSUE.
HE'S AT THE LINCOLN LAND INSTITUTE.
UH, HE, HE'S WRITTEN A BOOK ON HOW TO MAKE TIFFS WORK, HOW TO MAKE TAX INCREMENT FINANCING WORK.
UH, HE, HE DID A STUDY, OR HE LOOKED AT 31 DIFFERENT STUDIES, 31 OF THE BEST STUDIES ON THIS ISSUE.
AND HE FOUND THAT 18 HAD POSITIVE BENEFITS.
SO YOU SEE THINGS LIKE PROPERTY VALUES AROUND TAX INCREMENT ZONES INCREASING, YOU SEE, UH, EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS INCREASING.
UH, THO THOSE ARE, THOSE THINGS HAPPEN.
UH, BUT HE ALSO FOUND 13 STUDIES WITH BOTH NEGATIVE OR NO EFFECT.
AND HE CONCLUDES THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU EVALUATE THE STUDIES BASED ON, UH, THEIR METHODS, THEIR DATA, HE FINDS THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, TIFF HASN'T ACCOMPLISHED THE GOAL OF PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, THAT GIVES ME SOME PAUSE IN SUPPORTING TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONES.
ALTHOUGH I, I DON'T NOT SUPPORT THEM EITHER.
I, I DO THINK THEY'RE A VERY USEFUL TOOL WHEN USED APPROPRIATELY.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE REALLY HARD PART IS WHAT'S APPROPRIATE USE.
AND THAT, THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE WERE TRYING TO JUST DRAW A LITTLE ATTENTION AND TO MAYBE GET PEOPLE TO THINK AND, AND TO, TO GIVE Y'ALL SOME DATA TO MAKE THE HARD DECISIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN DO YOU, WHEN DO YOU USE IT? IN THE LITERATURE, THEY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN BUT FOR CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED ON PROJECTS.
THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN EXCEPT FOR THIS FUNDING TOOL.
UH, AND YOU REALLY NEVER WANT TO USE IT FOR A PROJECT THAT WOULD HAPPEN EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE FUNDING TOOL.
I, I AGREE WITH THAT WHOLEHEARTEDLY.
UH, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A LONG DISCUSSION AND IT'S A DISCUSSION I THINK, UH, THE CITY NEEDS TO HAVE.
AND, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING Y'ALL'S DISCUSSION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AS HOUSTON NAVIGATES THE, THE HAZY ROAD OF TEAR ZONES.
I THINK THESE ARE JUST SOME BACKGROUND SLIDES ON HOUSEHOLD MEDIAN INCOME.
AND, AND I'M SURE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE READ THE FULL REPORT AND, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS AND THE DEEP DIVE.
WE HAVE SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, AS YOU WOULD IMAGINE.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
DIAMOND FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR COLLEAGUES FOR THE WORK ON THIS REPORT AS WELL.
TER IS, ARE OBVIOUSLY, UH, A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC, UH, THESE DAYS.
SO, UM, WE START WITH THE IDEA, I THINK THAT PROPERTY TAXES ARE REGRESSIVE IN NATURE TO BEGIN WITH, RIGHT? AS OPPOSED TO SOME OTHER TYPES OF TAXES.
UH, AS AN ECONOMIST, I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THAT.
A PROPERTY TAXES, A TAX ON CAPITAL.
UH, CAPITAL IS NORMALLY OWNED BY WEALTHIER PEOPLE.
I, I DO, YOU KNOW, TALK PROPERTY TAX.
THIS IS, THERE'S ACTUALLY A VERY LARGE DISAGREEMENT IN ECONOMICS.
IT, IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON HOW YOU MEASURE IT.
I THINK BOTH SIDES ARE SOMEWHAT RIGHT.
PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS CAN FEEL REGRESSIVE AT TIMES.
UH, BUT OVERALL PROPERTY TAXES ARE ATTACKS ON CAPITAL AND THEY'RE NORMALLY SEEN AS A PROGRESSIVE TAX.
UM, BUT THE TURS, UH, YOUR FINDINGS SHOW HAVE MADE THE SYSTEM EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE.
UH, SO HOW, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE FIX THAT AND, AND KEEP THE TSAS? DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON THAT? UH, ACTUALLY I DO, YOU KNOW, ONE WAY YOU COULD FIX IT IS YOU COULD TREAT DIFFERENT TSAS DIFFERENTLY.
[00:40:01]
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK ACROSS, I MEAN, THIS, THIS SLIDE WE ENDED ON, WHICH SHOWS THE 25, AND YOU SEE THIS BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, T AND UPTOWN AND MIDTOWN AND MEMORIAL HEIGHTS, THAT, THAT HAVE A LOT OF LAND VALUE GROWTH AND CREATE LARGE TAX INCREMENTS THAT THEY CAN SPEND IN THEIR AREA VERSUS PLACES LIKE SUNNYSIDE AND OTHER PLACES WHICH DON'T HAVE THE VALUE GROWTH, AND THEY DON'T CREATE AS MUCH TAX INCREMENT TO SPEND.LET'S GIVE THOSE PLACES THE FULL INCREMENT, THE GRAY VERSUS THE ORANGE.
LET'S LET 'EM KEEP IT ALL BECAUSE WE REALLY WANT GROWTH IN THOSE AREAS.
AND THEN IN THE RICHER AREAS, PUT A MUCH HARDER STANDARD, LET'S DO GRAY VERSUS THE BLUE BARS.
LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, UPTOWN'S GONNA GROW PRETTY QUICKLY NO MATTER WHETHER WE INVEST THERE OR NOT.
LET'S NOT GIVE THEM THE FULL BENEFIT.
LET'S JUST GIVE THEM, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY, WELL, WE, WE THINK IT'S GONNA GROW AT 4%.
AND IF YOU GROW IT FASTER THAN 4%, THEN YOU CAN USE THAT TO DEVELOP THE AREA EVEN MORE.
I WORRY THAT IF YOU, IF YOU PUT TOO MUCH MONEY, YOU ACTUALLY JUST END UP, AND THIS IS WHAT DIANE MERRIMAN FOUND, IS YOU JUST END UP DRAWING DEVELOPMENT FROM THE REST OF THE CITY INTO THE RICHEST AREAS.
AND THAT MAKES THE WHOLE PROBLEM, UH, MORE AGGRESSIVE.
SO I THINK JUST HAVING, DIFFERENTIATING IT BY, UH, BY AREA AND REALLY GIVING MORE BENEFIT TO THE AREAS THAT NEED THE GROWTH THE MOST WITHOUT COMPLETELY TAKING IT AWAY FROM AREAS WHERE WE STILL WANT GROWTH.
LOOK, THE MEMORIAL PARK'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE NOW.
I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT, BUT THERE, THERE WAS A CHOICE THERE.
I MEAN, WE, WE DID, YOU KNOW, WE DID SPEND MONEY IN ONE AREA OF THE CITY AND THAT THAT DOES COME OUT OF EVERYBODY'S POTENTIAL FINANCIAL GAINS.
SO I'LL, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, HAVE YOU COMPARED THE TURS DOLLARS TO CITY TAX DOLLAR INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING AS FAR AS WHERE THAT MONEY IS SPENT? BECAUSE WHILE THE TURS MONEY MIGHT BE SPENT ON THE MORE AFFLUENT AREAS OR BENEFIT THE MORE AFFLUENT AREAS, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO COMPARE THAT TO HOW THE CITY SPENDS TAX DOLLARS AND WHAT AREAS THAT MONEY IS GOING TOWARDS AND BENEFITING.
BECAUSE I KNOW FOR DISTRICT A, FOR EXAMPLE, IN SPRING BRANCH WITHOUT THE TURS MONEY IS NOT BEING SPENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
AND SO, AND THEN IT BECOMES THE QUESTION IS BECAUSE OF THE TURS, OR IS IT BECAUSE MONEY IS BEING PRIORITIZED IN OTHER PLACES? SO HAVE YOU, HAS THAT COMPARISON BEEN MADE? UH, WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT AT THIS TIME.
THAT, THAT IS A VERY INTERESTING IDEA, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT, YOU KNOW, GATHERING THE DATA ON PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS ACROSS ALL OF THE CITIES IS QUITE A TASK.
I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER JOAQUIN MARTINEZ HAS JOINED US HERE AT THE HORSESHOE.
NEXT WE HAVE COUNCIL, VICE CHAIR CASTILLO.
I WANT TO START ON SLIDE SIX MEASURES OF DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS.
UM, 68.5% OF CURRENT TAX INCREMENT IS SPENT IN THESE AREAS WHERE THERE'S HIGHER THAN THE CITY'S MEDIAN INCOME.
DOES THIS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE MONEY THAT ALL THE CHURCH IS PAY INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND AND WHERE THAT IS SPENT? NO.
SO THIS, WE USE, SO THE, THE CURRENT TAX INCREMENT, UH, IS JUST THE INCREMENT.
SO, SO I GUESS THEY'RE, EACH, EACH OF THE CREATION PLAN SAYS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA SPEND 20% OR 30%.
WE DID NOT GO ONE, YOU KNOW, PLAN BY PLAN AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT MONEY.
SO THE QUICK ANSWER IS NO, WE JUST, WE JUST TOOK THE NUMBER.
AND THERE ARE OTHER EXPENDITURES, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE EXPENDITURES, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MONEY COMING OUT OF EACH OF THE CHARGES.
YOU'D HAVE TO SUBTRACT EVERYONE.
AND IT WAS A COMPLICATED, UH, COMPLICATED MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM.
SO THAT'S, HOW WAS THAT ACHIEVED? THAT MECHANISM THAT ALLOWED ALTS TO PAY INTO A FUND THAT WAS SPENT ACROSS THE CITY, NOT IN THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES.
DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT WAS STR HOW THAT WAS ACHIEVED? HOW THAT WAS STRUCTURED? I THINK IT'S STRUCTURED TURS BY TURS, I THINK AS A TS IS CREATED.
UH, THERE'S A PLAN THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVES ON THE PROJECT THAT'S GOING TO BE DONE.
AND THEN SOME PERCENTAGE OF THE INCREMENT IS, UH, THE, THE COUNCIL THEN SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE WANT 33% OF THE INCREMENT TO GO TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND 10% TO EDUCATION.
UH, BUT THAT VARIES, UH, ZONE BY ZONE.
SO YOU, THERE'S NO SINGLE WAY, I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE MONEY
[00:45:01]
GOES.PART OF THE REASON WE DIDN'T REALLY INCLUDE IT, DOES IT GO TO ALL THE CITY? DOES IT NOT, IT JUST SEEMS TO KIND OF GO INTO THE BLACK BOX, AND I NEVER REALLY SEE IT COME OUT.
WE TRIED TO SEE WHERE, WHERE DOES IT END UP? BUT I, I COULDN'T, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PETITION TOURS GIVE, UH, A THIRD OF THEIR INCREMENT TO TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT CAN BE USED ALL OVER THE CITY.
SO WOULD THERE BE A WAY TO ALLOW TSS TO, TO DEVOTE SOME OF THEIR INCREMENT TO A INFRASTRUCTURE FUND OR A SAFETY FUND THAT WOULD BE USED ACROSS THE CITY OUTSIDE OF THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES? I ASSUME THERE IS, THAT'S A LEGAL QUESTION, NOT AN ECONOMICS QUESTION, BUT I ASSUME THAT COULD BE DONE.
THAT WOULD, I WOULD, IT'S AN INTERESTING IDEA.
THINKING ABOUT TRYING TO DISTRIBUTE.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, WE'RE SPEAKING ABOUT THE TURS IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I MEAN, THE TURS PROLIFERATED AFTER THE VOTERS SAID THE CITY'S REVENUE SHOULD BE CAPPED AT INFLATION IN POPULATION GROWTH.
UH, THE TOURS IN THE LAKE HOUSTON AREA HAS PRETTY MUCH PAID FOR ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.
THE AREA HAS GOTTEN MUCH TO AMY'S POINT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT PAYS FOR ALL THE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
IT PAID FOR OUR COMMUNITY CENTER.
IN FACT, THE TOURS EVEN PAID FOR OUR ANNEXATION.
THEY USED MONEY FROM THE TOURS TO PAY THE MUD DISTRICT DEBT THAT THE CITY INHERITED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE GOT A, A LOT OF PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES WITH THE TURS, BUT YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS MONEY IS GOING TO BENEFIT THE AFFLUENT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE DETRIMENT OF, OF OTHERS IS, IS INCORRECT BECAUSE THAT MONEY WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN BEEN AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WOULD'VE BEEN BEYOND THE REVENUE INCREASE CAP.
I, I, I THINK I DISAGREE WITH THAT A LITTLE.
I I MEAN, I SEE YOUR POINT, BUT, UH, IF, IF, IF THET DIDN'T EXIST AND ALL THE MONEY WAS IN THE GENERAL BUDGET, WOULD THE CAP HAVE CONSTRICTED SOME PORTION OF THAT? WOULD IT HAVE SLOWED IT? YES.
BUT IF YOU TOOK, IF YOU CLOSED DOWN ANYT TODAY, ALL OF THAT MONEY WOULD JUST GO RIGHT BACK INTO THE PROPERTY.
AND IT WOULD BE TAXED PROPERTY UNDERSTOOD PROPERTY THE CITY COULD USE TO FUND INVESTORS.
BUT EVERYTHING THAT WAS BEYOND THE REVENUE CAP WOULD'VE NEVER EXISTED.
SO IF IT WAS BEYOND INFLATION AND POPULATION GROWTH, YES.
SO THAT MONEY IS EXCLUDED IT, UNLESS, UNLESS YOU WENT TO THE VOTERS AND HAD THEM APPROVE IT, WHICH AGREED, WE, WE COULD ALWAYS HAVE THE VOTERS INCREASE TAXES.
BUT THAT IS WHY PROPERTY TAXES HAVE INCREASED BEYOND WHAT THE VOTERS VOTED FOR.
I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT INFLATION AND POPULATION GROWTH AND LOOK AT THE REVENUE GROWTH OF THE CITY, THE CITY HAS EXCEEDED THAT GREATLY.
AND IT'S BECAUSE 24% OF THE PROPERTY IN THE TUR IS EXEMPTED.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE VOTERS AND SAY, HEY, VOTERS, LET'S, LET'S LIFT THE REVENUE CAP, THEN YOU CAN DO THAT.
AND ALL THIS MONEY'S AVAILABLE FOR ALL THE GENERAL FUND AND PAY FOR WHATEVER WE WANT.
BUT UNLESS THAT'S DONE, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT YOU'RE SAYING ALL THE MONEY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MONEY WOULD STILL BE THERE.
THE MONEY WOULD STILL BE THERE.
IT'S JUST THE CAP WOULD'VE RESTRAINED SOME OF THE GROWTH.
NOT ALL OF, I'M GONNA A SIGNIFICANT PIECE.
I'M GONNA RIGHT HERE AND I'M GONNA ASK THE CITY ATTORNEY TO WEIGH IN BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS THE CRUX OF IT.
IF YOU TO, TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER POINT HERE, AND IF YOU, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE SLIDE WITH THE, UM, WITH THE CHART, THE TACK TURS GROWTH.
SO I KNOW WHEN BILL WHITE WAS MAYOR, HE PUT SOMETHING IN THAT SAID, IF YOU WANNA TAKE BACK KIND OF WHAT YOU WERE SUGGESTING EARLIER, IF YOU WANNA TAKE BACK A PERCENTAGE OF THE JURORS AND, YOU KNOW, REDISTRIBUTE OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, LET EVERYBODY KEEP THE ORANGE TO THE GRAY IF THEY, IF THEY, IT'S A MORE BLIGHTED AREA.
AND LET KEEP THE, JUST THE BLUE TO THE GRAY IF YOU'RE, OR IF YOU'RE NOT, UM, ARTURO, IF YOU LIKE.
SO, SO LET'S SAY WE TAKE BACK 10% OF AURS, THAT PROPERTY VALUATION, THAT 10%, WHATEVER THAT AMOUNT IS TODAY, WOULD BE CONSIDERED BY MY UNDERSTANDING, A RE ANNEXATION.
[00:50:02]
WHATEVER THE PROPERTY VALUE IS TODAY, BACK AS OUR BASE AMOUNT.AND WE WOULD KEEP, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT TAXABLE VALUE, JUST LIKE A NEW AREA, JUST LIKE EVERY YEAR, NEW AREAS GET TAKEN IN.
UM, WE CAN, WE CAN TAKE THEM OUTSIDE OF THE REVENUE CAP BECAUSE IT'S NEW.
THIS WOULD BE LIKE A NEW AREA ARENA ANNEXATION.
AND THAT'S THAT AMOUNT AND THE TAXABLE VALUE THAT WE GET FROM THAT AMOUNT STAYS WITH THE CITY EACH YEAR.
WHAT WE WOULD MISS OUT ON IS ANY INCREMENT FROM THERE ON AFTER THAT FIRST YEAR, ANY INCREMENT AFTER THAT FIRST YEAR WOULD PROBABLY NOT GO TO THE REVENUE CAP.
IS THAT A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OR NOT? UH, YES.
WE'VE GOT NO, AND WE'VE GOT, YES.
AND THERE'S A LOT, I HAVE ASKED THIS QUESTION EVERY WHICH WAY, A THOUSAND DIFFERENT TIMES, AND I NEVER GET THE FULL STORY BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S VERY MUCH BEEN TOLD TO US FOR YEARS BEFORE MIKE MORRIS DID THOSE TURS REPORTS MM-HMM
WE THOUGHT WE, WE LOST ALL OF IT FOREVER.
AND THEN IT WAS LIKE, NO, YOU RE ANNEX IT.
THAT'S PART OF YOUR, THAT'S PART OF YOUR TAXABLE VALUE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO GENERATE TAX REVENUE ON AND ONLY INCREMENT YOU'RE LOSING.
BUT YOU'RE, ARE YOU LOSING? WELL, BOTH, BOTH OF YOU CAN EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
I MEAN, YOU'RE GENERALLY RIGHT.
WHERE I WOULD DIFFER IS IT'S NOT THE INCREMENT.
SO THE CAP IS, IS IS IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE TAX RATE.
IT DOESN'T AFFECT WHAT INCREMENTS AVAILABLE.
IT SAYS THIS IS THE INCREMENT.
ONLY, AND THEN GIVEN THAT INCREMENT, WE'RE GONNA ADJUST THE TAX RATE DOWN.
ONLY THAT REALLY SHOW ONLY, ONLY IF YES.
SO I MISSTATE, BUT I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, I THINK YOU STILL HAVE A LITTLE TIME ON THE, ON THE CLOCK.
UM, NEXT TO ONLINE, WE HAVE BY, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM, MARTHA CASTEX, TATU, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S GONNA READ HER COMMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S ABLE TO GET ON.
HI, DIRECTOR DIAMOND, UH, FOR MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, YOU HAD ACTUALLY SAID T SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN.
UH, SORRY, THINGS WOULDN'T HAPPEN.
BUT FOR THIS FUNDING TOOL, OR THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE STUDIES SAID, THAT THAT IS A CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHICH ITERS WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE AS IF IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN.
BUT FOR THIS FUNDING TOOL, MAYOR PRO, PRETEND WANTED TO ADD, UM, INTERCEPT THAT, BUT FOR THE T IS IN HER AREAS, THESE PROJECTS WOULD NOT HAPPEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS ALONG MAJOR THOROUGHFARES, THE DEMOLITIONS OF MAD CO THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY.
SO WE DON'T HAVE GAS STATIONS ON EVERY CORNER.
SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE HEARING, AND YOU'LL HEAR FROM ME IN JUST A MOMENT AROUND THE HORSESHOE, IS THE FACT THAT, BUT FOR THESE TS THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY-BASED IMPROVEMENTS THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT THEM.
AND I THINK THE QUESTION IS, AGAIN, IN YOUR ANALYSIS, HOW ARE YOU TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT? BUT I'M, AGAIN, THAT WAS HER, HER QUESTION.
AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE NEXT IN THE QUEUE, SO IF YOU WANNA KEEP GOING.
WELL, I, I MEAN, SO I'LL ANSWER THAT AND JUST SAY, I, I, I AGREE WITH YOU.
ANTIT, TURS, WE NEED TO GET RID OF THEM ALL.
I, I GUESS MY RESPONSE TO THAT, IF, IF IT WOULD ONLY HAPPEN IN YOUR DISTRICT, BUT FOR, WELL, WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PLACES THAT DON'T HAVE A TURS? AND, AND ARE THEY JUST BEING LEFT OUT IN THE COLD? DO WE HAVE A CITY OF HAVE AND HAVE NOTS? CORRECT.
AND SO FIRST BEFORE, SO SINCE MY TIME IS STARTING, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, EXCUSE ME, CHAIR ALCORN STATED THAT BILL KING CONTRIBUTED TO THIS, UH, MY FIRST TERM.
I ACTUALLY FUNDED WITH DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS, AN ADDITIONAL STUDY, UM, BY BAKER.
Y'ALL DO TERRIFIC WORK AND WE APPRECIATE IT.
WHO FUNDED THIS? AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, IF YOU COULD CLARIFY, WHEN MR. KING CONTRIBUTED TO THIS, WHAT WAS HIS INVOLVEMENT? UH, NO ONE FUNDED.
THIS IS FUNDED COMPLETELY JUST OUT OF BAKER.
JUST OUR OWN RESOURCES, OUR OWN, OUR OWN STUFF.
UH, I ACTUALLY, UH, BROUGHT, UH, MR. KING ON TO BE A FELLOW IN THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC FINANCE.
I'VE, I'VE RESPECTED HIS WORK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
HE WRITES STUFF THAT I FIND INTERESTING, I DON'T ALWAYS AGREE WITH, BUT, BUT HE'S A FELLOW AT THE INSTITUTE NOW, AND HE'S PART OF THE CENTER.
THE WORK WAS ALL INTERNALLY FUNDED.
THERE WAS NO EXTERNAL FUNDING.
AND WAS THERE A PARTICULAR CHARGE OR SCOPE? SO WHEN YOU ASK QUESTIONS A CERTAIN WAY, THERE ARE CERTAIN OUTCOMES IN STUDIES.
AGAIN, I'M NOT DISCOUNTING OR DISCREDITING BAKER, Y'ALL ARE EXTREMELY REPUTABLE.
BUT WAS THERE A PARTICULAR CHARGE WITH THIS? YEAH, FIND THE
[00:55:01]
TRUTH.AND I, I DON'T CARE IF THAT SUPPORTS OR DOES NOT SUPPORT TUR ZONES, JUST FIND THE TRUTH.
AND DID THE SCOPE, I'LL ASK WHAT I WAS REFERENCING WITH MAYOR PRO TEM.
DID THE SCOPE INCLUDE THE OFFSET THE TS PROJECTS ENABLE, MEANING THE FREEING UP OF FUNDS THAT THEN ALLOW THE CITY TO TACKLE PROJECTS IN AREAS THAT DO NOT YIELD THOSE HIGHER DOLLARS? FOR EXAMPLE, MONTROSE HAS SOME OF THE OLDEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY.
AT THE SAME TIME WE HAD THE WEST ALABAMA CIP THAT WAS SITTING ON, UH, OUR CIP LISTED THE CITY FOR HOWEVER MANY YEARS, OVER $15 MILLION.
WE SUCCESSFULLY PARTNERED WITH THREE TURS SO THAT WE REMOVE IT FROM THE CITY'S CIP, FREE THOSE DOLLARS UP SO THAT THE CITY CAN GET TO OTHER PROJECTS IN OTHER AREAS AND MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE TS WITH THEIR OWN FUNDING FOR WEST ALABAMA.
OUR SOUTHWEST TURS, WHICH MAYOR, UH, PRO TEM INCLUDES, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS, COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD AND MYSELF ARE ALL INVOLVED IN THAT, REPRESENTS SOME OF THE AREAS MOST REPETITIVELY FLOODED IN THE ENTIRE STATE.
THEY'RE WORKING ON FLOOD MITIGATION, AND THOSE ARE NOT SOME OF THE MOST HIGHEST INCOME AREAS.
FRIEDMANS TOWN, ONE OF THE OLDEST HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE ENTIRE CITY, BEAR TOURS IS DOING INFRASTRUCTURE WORK, THE MEMORIAL HEIGHTS TOURS.
BUT FOR THAT AND THE BONDING CAPACITY OF THAT TOURS, WE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NORTH CANAL FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECTS.
SO HOW ARE ALL OF THOSE, ARE THOSE BEING, UH, WEIGHTED IN SOME WAY OR ASSESSED AND ANALYZED IN SOME WAY? BECAUSE I ASSURE YOU, ALL OF US COULD GIVE YOU A LIST OF THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING DONE THAT WOULD NOT GET DONE.
BUT FOR THOSE TURS, BUT WITH THE COMPONENT OF THAT, AND I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK IN QUEUE, FOR ME, IT'S THE OFFSET THAT FREES UP ADDITIONAL CITY DOLLARS TO GO IN WHERE A TOURS MAY NOT BE AS SUSTAINABLE BECAUSE OF THAT INCREMENT.
AGAIN, CHURCHES DO VALUABLE THINGS, AND WE JUST PRODUCED A REPORT THAT SHOWS THAT MUCH OF THE MONEY, A A LARGER PROPORTION, IS BEING SPENT IN HIGH INCOME AREAS THAN POOR AREAS.
ARE THERE ANECDOTAL STORIES WHERE TSAS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB? ABSOLUTELY.
ARE T IS VALUABLE FUNDING TOOL.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA HEAR ANYTHING DIFFERENT FROM ME ON THAT.
UH, IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH HOW THEY'RE IMPLEMENTED CURRENTLY? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU EARLIER, BUT WELCOME TO THE HORSESHOE AND YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
I'M USED TO BEING LOOKED OVER
BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, TODAY AND INFORMATIVE INFORMATION YOU'VE GIVEN, I THINK IT SHINES A LIGHT ON WHY WE AS A COUNCIL HAVE TO LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT TURS.
UH, I'VE HAD CONCERNS BY TURS FOR A LONG TIME, AS MANY CITIZENS DO.
NOW, THE TRUTH OF IT IS YOUR PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS THE FACT THAT THERE IS MISAPPROPRIATION IN TERMS OF WHAT DETER WERE CREATED TO DO.
WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? I AGREE THAT THE, THE LAW STATES ONE THING AND IT'S NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR THAT THEY'RE DOING THAT THING.
DON'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENCE TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
THE NUMBERS INDICATE THE FACT THAT THESE TERRORIST DOLLARS GENERATED IN HIGH INCOME AND HIGH AREAS HAVE A LOT MORE MONEY AND WEALTH.
NOW, THERE WAS TIME, I EVEN SAID TO SOME GROUPS ABOUT TUR GIVING MONEY BACK.
I HAD A GROUP SAYING TO ME, ALL YOU CURE CAN'T GIVE MONEY BACK.
BUT I'VE LEARNED TO DISCOVER THEY CAN.
SO BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE TOLD US TODAY, WHICH GIVES A LITTLE LIGHT TO ME, BECAUSE THE FACT IS BASICALLY EVERYBODY SAID, OH, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONE IF IT WASN'T A TOUR.
MY COMMUNITY WOULDN'T HAVE GOT THAT.
WELL, THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, IS WE'RE GIVING TURS THE, THE, WE APPOINT PEOPLE, WE SUPPORT PEOPLE, WE ARGUE FOR PEOPLE TO BE PUT ON THE TURS THAT BENEFIT THAT WE SEEM TO THINK BENEFIT US, WHATEVER TURS THAT MAY BE.
BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, IS THAT WE'RE BASICALLY SAYING THE TURS CAN HANDLE THE MONEY EVEN IF IT COME THE INFRASTRUCTURE
[01:00:01]
AND OTHERS BETTER THAN WE CAN.YET WE AROUND THIS HORSESHOE TALK WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR HERE AND THERE.
BUT YET WE ARE SAYING THE TURDS ARE SMARTER AND THAT THEY ARE MORE EQUIPPED TO DO IT WHEN MOST OF THEM IS JUST CONCERNED MAYBE BY THAT ONE PARTICULAR TERRORIST.
WHEREAS WE ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING CONCERNED ABOUT ALL OF THE CITY, WHICH IS NOT GETTING SAW.
SO I PERSONALLY THINK THAT YOUR INFORMATION IS WELL TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AND UH, I THANK YOU FOR THE TIME, BUT IN MY CLOSING.
YOU'RE SAYING I'M NOT ANTIT TURS, BUT LET ME BE CLEAR, BUT YOU DON'T THINK THAT TURS ARE DOING WHAT THEY WERE CREATED BY LAW TO DO? I DO NOT.
I THINK THEY'VE, I THINK THEY'VE EXTENDED INTO JUST GENERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ALL AREAS, AND I THINK THEY'VE BECOME A WAY TO AVOID, I MEAN, WE HEAR IT, WE SEE IT IN NEWSPAPERS.
THEIR WAY TO AVOID THE PROPERTY, THE, THE VOTER APPROVED.
THE VOTER SANCTION, THE PROPERTY TAX CUP.
UH, I APPRECIATE THIS CONVERSATION AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE, WE'VE UNDERSTOOD RIGHT, OUR REV CAP AND, AND WHAT MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCILMAN FLICKINGER HAS SHARED, IT'S, THERE'S SOME TRUTH TO THAT.
UM, AND BECAUSE OF THE REV CAP THERE, THESE TERMS ARE A TOOL TO BE ABLE TO BRING IN REVENUE THAT WE PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SEE AT THAT CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
UM, EAST DOWNTOWN, I'D SEE IT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST.
YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE CLAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN EAST DOWNTOWN THAT MIGHT NOT GET TO, UH, OR NOT HELP PROVIDE SOME OF THAT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT FOR THE TS, UM, AND, AND I, AND I, AGAIN, I WANT TO JUST SPECIFICALLY, UH, TO, TO THIS, IT'S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION BECAUSE AS WE START TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE REV CAP OR THE TAX RATE SHOULD BE IN THE FUTURE, UM, I THINK WE NEED, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME COMPROMISE TO SOME EXTENT.
UM, AND SO IF, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, REMOVING TO WHATEVER EXTENT A REV CAP, UH, AND THEN WE NEED TO BE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EXTENDING LIVES OF CERTAIN CHARGES BECAUSE, UH, I GUESS MY, MY, WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET TO IS, MY LAST QUESTION IS IF WE TAKE BACK SOME OF THESE CHARGES, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE WOULD TAKE ON THEIR PROJECT SCOPE AS WELL AND THEIR DEBT.
AND SO CURRENTLY THE, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON, UM, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FROM A TS NOW, UH, TO ADD ON TO WHAT OUR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN FOR THE CITY FOR DECADES, IT JUST SEEMS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
AND SO I THINK FOR ME, IT'S ALMOST WHEN DO YOU STOP A NEW PROJECT PLAN AT A TS, UM, SO THAT WAY WE DON'T TAKE ON THAT DEBT.
AND JUST, JUST TO, UH, YOUR, TO A QUESTION FOR YOU, JOHN, IS, UH, HAVE Y'ALL TAKE, TAKE THOUGHT ABOUT IT IN THAT ASPECT.
I APPRECIATE WHAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO, BUT FOR THESE, THESE CHURCHES, WE DON'T HAVE THESE CERTAIN PROJECTS.
AND I CAN GO ON MY LIST OF GULF GATE HARRISBURG, UH, EAST DOWNTOWN, UH, SPECIFICALLY.
UH, BUT HAVE Y'ALL TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT DEBT WOULD BE AS WELL IF WE WERE TO ELIMINATE SOME OF THESE CHARGES? UH, I HAVE, AND WE DO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND, AND FIRST OF ALL, THE LITERATURE'S CLEAR.
YOU, YOU MAY HAVE MORE MONEY IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE CHURCHES, NOT LESS.
UH, MERRIMAN HAS SHOWN THAT IN, IN TWO VERY GOOD ARTICLES.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S A COMMON FALLACY, BUT FOR THE REV CAP AS WELL, RIGHT? BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE ALREADY, THE REV CAP WOULD, WOULD LIMIT, COULD LIMIT, HAS LIMITED, HAS LIMITED, BUT IFT IS, IF TS IS, BUT, BUT NOT AS MUCH.
YOU MAY SPEND MORE ON ALL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR EVERY TS.
I MEAN, IT WOULD, AN INTERESTING THING WOULD BE IF I WENT AND ADDED UP EVERY ADMINISTRATIVE FEE, HOW WOULD THAT COMPARE TO THE LOST REVENUE? MM-HMM
AND DIANE MERRIMAN SHOW THAT GROWTH IN CITIES WITH NO TS IS ONE TO TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS ABOVE CITIES WITH TS.
SO IN THAT CASE, AND I'LL JUST CLOSE WITH THIS, YOU'RE LOSING REVENUE WITH S NOT GAINING IT CLOSE WITH THIS.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T NEED TO BE BACK IN THE QUEUE, BUT MOST CITIES, UM, DON'T HAVE A STRINGENT REVENUE CAP AS CITY OF HOUSTON, EVEN TO THE POINT WHERE OUR REV CAP IS MORE STRINGENT THAN THE STATE IS PUTTING ON OTHER CITIES.
AND I THINK LOOKING AT IT HOLISTICALLY IN THAT SENSE, ALSO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU, YOU'VE, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN A, A GENERALIZATION OF ALL TURS, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING MONEY IN, UH, THE MOST WEALTHIEST TURS ARE SEEING.
THAT'S WHAT'S INCREASING THAT, THAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS.
BUT YOU NEED TO REALLY DIVE DEEPER INTO
[01:05:01]
EACH OF THESE TURS TO SEE, AND IN THAT SAME SENSE, TO SEE THE BENEFIT.BUT IN THAT SAME SENSE, NOT GENERALIZING US WITH EVERY OTHER CITY THAT IS SEEING INCREMENT, THAT DOESN'T HAVE A REVENUE CAP AS WELL.
WE, WE PRESENTED THE ACTUAL DATA AS IT EXISTS.
AND, AND LOOK, I UNDERSTAND THAT EACH AREA THAT HAS A TUR VALUES THAT TURF, IT IS DEFINITELY BETTER FOR THE AREA THAT HAS THE TUR THAN IT IS FOR EVERYWHERE ELSE.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU FIGHT FOR SOMETHING HARD ENOUGH, IT ALMOST PROVES HOW, HOW MUCH MORE VALUABLE IT IS FOR THAT AREA THAN THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN.
AND, UM, THIS IS REALLY JUST A COMMENT, NO NEED FOR YOU TO RESPOND, BUT, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND YOU KNOW, YOU SAID, WELL, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY GOES.
AND SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY GOES, THEN IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE WHAT EFFECT IT'S HAVING ON OTHER AREAS IN THE CITY.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK ATT 17, THAT HAS A EMPHASIS ON FLOOD MITIGATION.
IT'S NOT JUST PREVENTING FLOODING WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OFT 17, IT'S PREVENTING FLOODING, YOU KNOW, IT EXTENDS OTHER AREAS AS WELL.
AND THEN YOU LOOK AT UPTOWN TOUR WHERE WE HAVE THE GALLERIA, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SALES TAX ALONE HAS GENERATED OVER A BILLION DOLLARS OF REVENUE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND METRO PLUS THE TOURISM THAT'S COMING IN, THE HOT TAXES THAT ARE COLLECTED FROM THE HOTELS AND THE GALLERIA AREA.
YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT ALL OF THAT, THAT THE HOT TAXES THEN GO TO SUPPORT TOURISM, SPORTS FACILITIES, THE ARTS DISTRICTS, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER THINGS.
SO I THINK IT'S JUST HARD TO MEASURE EXACTLY WHAT EFFECT IT'S HAVING ON OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY.
BUT THAT, BUT IT DOES REQUIRE RESPONSE BECAUSE THE MOST COMMON ECONOMIC FALLACY IS THAT A CHILD RUNS BY A STORE AND THROWS A ROCK THROUGH THE WINDOW.
PEOPLE SEE THE WINDOW BEING REPLACED, AND THEY SAY THE WINDOW MAKE'S DONE BETTER.
UH, THIS, THIS ACTUALLY WAS A POSITIVE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, BUT YOU DON'T, WHAT YOU DON'T SEE, IT'S THE FALLACY OF THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN AND TEARS ARE THE POSTER CHILD FOR WHAT WE SEE.
WE SEE SOME HIGHER SALES TAX, WE SEE GROWTH IN AN AREA.
WE DON'T SEE ALL THE GROWTH THAT WOULD'VE OCCURRED IN OTHER AREAS.
WE DON'T SEE WHERE THE GROWTH WAS TRANSFERRED FROM ONE AREA TO THE CITY OF THE OTHER.
BASIC ECONOMICS, WE DON'T SEE IT.
AND SO IT'S HARD TO MEASURE, YOU KNOW, HOW IT IS AFFECTING THE REST OF THE CITY.
NEXT SPEAKER, COUNCIL MEMBER, FLICKINGER, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOU THAT GROWTH IN ONE AREA, PROBABLY CANNIBALIZES, AT LEAST TO A CERTAIN DEGREE.
I MEAN, IT'S HARD TO MEASURE HOW MUCH, BUT YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I GET COMPLAINT CONSTITUENTS ALL THE TIME IS THEY SAY, I DON'T SEE MY TAX DOLLARS BEING SPENT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, I MEAN, SPECIFICALLY THE LARGEST AREAS I REPRESENTED, OR KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE, THEY WERE ANNEXED FOR THE REVENUE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AT LEAST ONE THING IN ONE PORTION OF THE DISTRICT WHERE THE TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT THERE.
AND I THINK IT'S A REASONABLE ARGUMENT THAT TAX DOLLARS SHOULD BENEFIT THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THEY'RE GENERATED FROM.
AND, AND SPECIFICALLY WITH THE WAY KEN KINGWOOD WAS AND, AND SOME OF THE FINANCIAL DECISIONS THAT, THAT WERE PUT ON Y'ALL, AS I, AND I JUST SAY THIS FROM GENERAL READING IN NEWSPAPERS, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF IT, BUT I, I REMEMBER READING THINKING, BOY, THIS IS REALLY UNFAIR.
AND IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS ALMOST A DEAL THAT THAT, AND IF YOU, IF, IF WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE YOU THIS, BUT WE'LL LET YOU HAVE A TUR.
AND IF THAT'S TRUE, THEN OBVIOUSLY THAT NEEDS TO BE HONORED.
AND, AND I, AGAIN, I'M, I'M NOT AGAINST T'S THEY HAVE VALUE, AND LIKE I SAID, IT SHOULD BE USED.
AND I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME BOONDOGGLES BY SOME OF THE THET.
IT'S JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT, WE WOULDN'T GET ANY MONEY SPENT.
I MEAN, AND, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK WE'RE IN HERE PASSING THESE DIFFERENT MEASURES, SPENDING MONEY, AND IT'S NOT BEING SPENT IN MY DISTRICT.
SO, YOU KNOW, A LOOK, I, I, I, I GET IT.
LIKE I SAID, I, AND I, I DO HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES WITH THE JUROR, BUT IT'S ALMOST LIKE, WELL, IF I DON'T HAVE THAT, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A, THAT'S A LARGER QUESTION I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON IS ONLINE.
UM, NEXT WE WILL HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, WHO'S ALSO ONLINE.
I THINK IF YOU HIT STAR SIX, IF YOU'RE ON YOUR, NOW THAT DOESN'T WORK ON A COMMITTEE MEETING, YOU HAVE TO BE IN ON
[01:10:01]
TEAMS. COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU.DIAMOND, DID YOU LOOK AT, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF T'S ACCORDING TO COUNCIL DISTRICT? NO, WE DID NOT.
THAT IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA, THOUGH.
UH, IT'S NOT EQUAL, IS IT? OR DO YOU KNOW OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, OR I'LL TELL YOU IT'S NOT EQUAL.
UH, YEAH, I WOULD ASSUME, I WOULD THINK IT'S NOT EQUAL.
MY, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS IS NOT HERE TODAY.
SHE WOULD SAY THE WEST SIDE IS THE BEST SIDE, OF COURSE, BUT NOT IN TERMS OF NUMBERS OF T'S IN DISTRICT F.
UM, ACCORDING TO OUR CALCULATIONS, THERE'S ONLY ONE TOURISM DISTRICT F AND I DON'T MEAN TO PICK ON A DISTRICT C AT ALL, BUT YOU ALWAYS DO
UM, UM, ACCORDING TO OUR CALCULATIONS, DISTRICT C HAS ABOUT SEVEN OF THEM.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON, ON THAT DISTRIBUTION OF THE TSS, IN, IN TERMS OF, AND, AND I UNDERSTAND BOUNDARY LINES HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, BUT ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA PICK ON ANY, I USED TO LIVE IN DISTRICT C, AND IT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, THIS, MY PAPER'S NOT ON SPECIFICS.
AND, AND, AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY TS THAT DO VERY GOOD WORK.
AND, AND THEY SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE SUPPORTED BY THE COUNCIL.
AND LET ME SAY, BUT WE CAN'T CONTINUE DOWN A ROAD WHERE THE BENEFITS ARE THIS UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED.
I'M NOT, I DON'T MEAN TO SOUND LIKE I'M PICKING ON C 'CAUSE I'M NOT, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FAIRNESS IN THE END.
UM, AND SO YOU HAD SUGGESTED ONE THING WE COULD DO IS WE COULD NOT, NOT GIVE A, GIVEN A PARTICULAR TURS, ITS FULL INCREMENT, RIGHT? SO JUST HOLD SOME BACK.
SO IF WE DID THAT, AND I'LL DIRECT MY QUESTION TO, UH, UH, ARTURO.
IF WE, IF WE SAID, IN THE CASE OF A GIVEN TURS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET THE FULL INCREMENT, WE'RE GONNA ONLY GONNA GIVE YOU 50% THIS YEAR, THAT 50% THAT WE HELD BACK, WOULD THAT COUNT AGAINST THE, THE REV CAP? IT WOULD COUNT AGAINST THE REV CAP.
UNDER THE PROVISION THAT UNDER MAYOR WHITE PASSED AROUND 2006, 2007.
SO IT, IT WOULD, IT WOULD COUNT, BUT IT'S BUILT INTO THE, THE BASES.
IT'S TREATED AS THE CHAIR SAID, AS AN ANNEXATION.
WHAT IS, UM, THE WILD CARD IS WHAT EFFECT IT HAS ON THE STATE REVENUE CAP, WHICH AS YOU SAW DURING THE BUDGET HEARINGS WERE, WE WERE EVENTUALLY PRESSING UP AGAINST.
AND THAT'S AN UNCERTAIN ANALYSIS.
AND, AND IF WE WANTED TO HOLD BACK, UH, A PART OF AN INCREMENT FROM A TURS, HOW WOULD WE DO THAT? BY, BY COUNCIL VOTE IN, IN A GIVEN YEAR? IT, IT WOULD EFFECTIVELY BE A PARTIAL, UH, DISSOLUTION OF THE TURS.
YOU'D, UH, YOU'D HAVE TO LOOK AT, UH, THE DEBT THAT THE CITY MAY HAVE TO TAKE ON.
UH, WE HAVE EXPO FACTOS LAWS IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND THE US CONSTITUTION AGAINST IMPAIRING CONTRACTS.
SO WE'D HAVE TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY EXISTING CONTRACTS OUT THERE.
NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT.
BUT ULTIMATELY, YES, BY A VOTE OF COUNSEL.
UM, THE MUNICIPAL SERVICES FEE, ONE OF, ONE OF THE PREMISES OF ONE OF THE THINGS YOU STATE IN YOUR REPORT IS THAT THE OTHER AREAS THAT DON'T HAVE A TURS ARE SUBSIDIZING CITY SERVICES WITH, YOU KNOW, IN WITHIN THAT TOURS, DID YOU LOOK AT THE, THE, THE, I, I KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, I'LL COME BACK TO YOU.
UM, UM, IN THE, LIKE UPPER KIRBY TOURS TOMORROW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THEIR BUDGET, THAT'S ABOUT A THREE PLUS MILLION DOLLAR MUNICIPAL SERVICES FEE TO PAY FOR SOME OF THE THINGS.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU TOOK INTO ACCOUNT? NOT, NOT SPECIFICALLY.
WE, WE, THAT IS AN AREA WHERE WE COULD GO BACK AND EXTEND THIS RESEARCH AND, AND ACTUALLY DO THE CALCULATIONS OF ALL THE FEES AND ALL THE RIGHT, ALL THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PAYMENTS.
THAT WOULD JUST BE AN EXTENSION OF WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
THAT'S ANOTHER THREE, THREE OR FOUR MONTHS WORK.
UM, YOU SAID YOU'RE WORKING ON, UM, RESEARCH, UH, STATEWIDE.
UH, CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW HOUSTON TOURS STACK UP AGAINST OTHER CITIES? UM, I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY DOES 'EM, SOME PEOPLE DO PROJECT BASED TOURS.
I KNOW THERE THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING 'EM.
UH, HOW DO WE STACK UP WITH THE OTHER BIG CITIES? UH, I'M NOT FAR ENOUGH ALONG TO REALLY GIVE YOU SPECIFICS.
I MEAN, I THINK HOUSTON HAS BEEN A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE THAN, THAN SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES.
UH, BUT I, I KIND OF SEE THE OTHER CITIES CATCHING ON, AND I THINK IT'S FOR, FOR MANY OF THE SAME REASONS, UH, EITHER FINANCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE CITY WANTING
[01:15:01]
TO AVOID THE STATE CAP, UH, ALTHOUGH THAT, THAT MAY BE A LOSING BATTLE OF, OF HERE THAT THE STATE IS THINKING OF GETTING RID OF THE CARVE OUT, UH, FOR, FOR TIERS, UH, PAYMENTS IN THE, UNDER THE STATE CAP.UM, BUT, BUT NO, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY.
I HAVEN'T DEVELOPED ANY REAL THOUGHTS ON HOW HOUSTON COMPARES WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.
AND, AND AS FAR AS THE CENSUS TRACKS, YOU, YOU WENT, I MEAN, WE KNOW TOURS ARE FOR COMMERCIAL AREAS, NOT FOR RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
SO YOU, BUT YOU WANTED TO INCLUDE THE HOUSEHOLD MEDIUM INCOME AND YOU KIND OF, YOU USED 500 FEET, BUT THEN YOU KIND OF, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT WHERE THERE'S BOUNDARIES.
IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T AN EXACT SCIENCE ON WHERE YOU WENT.
YOU CAN'T, IT'S, IT'S ALREADY, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.
IF WE WERE TO GO TO THE ONE OF THE LA OR THE THIRD, SECOND TO LAST SIDE, I THINK IT'S THE SOUTH, WE HAVE THE SOUTHWEST HOUSTON TUR, UH, IT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT TASK BECAUSE THE CHURCHES AREN'T LIKE JUST A SQUARE BLOCK.
THEY'RE, UH, IT'S A MIX MATCH.
AND SO YOU HAVE TO REALLY JUST SIT THERE AND THINK AND USE A LITTLE BIT OF SAME HISTORY TO FIGURE OUT YEAH.
BUT, BUT WE DID IT IN AT LEAST, UH, FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS THAT I CAN THINK ABOUT.
WE DID 500 FEET WITHOUT DUPLICATES.
WE DID 500 FEET WITH DUPLICATES.
SO WE ALLOWED A CENTRUS TRACK TO BE IN TWO DIFFERENT HERS.
ALL THE NUMBERS CAME BACK, WHICH IS ALMOST THE EXACT, OKAY.
I MEAN, THERE'S VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE.
SO, NO, I APPRECIATE THAT BACKGROUND.
I WAS TRYING TO FOLLOW THAT IN THE REPORT.
UH, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
UM, ONE RESPONSE WHEN YOU HAVE THE OLDEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY, WHEN YOU HAVE THE URBAN CORE OF THE CITY, WHEN YOU HAVE THE MOST REPETITIVELY FLOODED AREAS, PRETTY MUCH IN THE ENTIRE REGION, AND SOME OF THE LARGEST ECONOMIC DRIVERS IN THE CITY, THAT PEOPLE ALL OVER HOUSTON IN OUR REGION USE AND COME INTO EVERY SINGLE DAY.
YOU HAVET THAT ARE A NECESSITY.
THAT BEING SAID, I LOA COUNCIL DISTRICT COMPARISONS BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE THESE LINES THAT HAVE BEEN DRAWN BY PEOPLE BASED ON CENSUS NUMBERS, THE TS DON'T FOLLOW THOSE LINES.
THE TS SHARE WITH MULTIPLE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, THEY SHARE WITH H, THEY SHARE WITH J, THEY SHARE WITH K, THE LIST GOES ON.
SO I JUST FOR THE RECORD, WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR THAT IT'S NOT A TS ENDS AT A SPECIFIC BOUNDARY.
THAT BEING SAID, UM, GOING BACK TO THE STUDIES THAT YOU REFERENCED, UH, DO THOSE STUDIES TAKE INTO ACCOUNT? 'CAUSE AGAIN, I THINK WE CAN ALL RECOGNIZE HOUSTON'S IN A VERY UNIQUE POSITION GIVEN THE TWO REVENUE CAPS OR PROPERTY TAX CAPS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, UM, BOTH THE STATE AND THE VOTER IMPOSED, DID THOSE STUDIES TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CITIES LIKE HOUSTON THAT DO HAVE THE MOST RESTRICTIVE REVENUE CAPS PRETTY MUCH IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY? OR ARE THEY LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THOSE RESTRICTIONS? UH, IT'S TOUGH.
'CAUSE THAT WAS OVER 31 STUDIES.
I KNOW THREE OF THE STUDIES, IT WAS EITHER TWO OR THREE OF THE, NO, THREE, THERE WERE THREE STUDIES IN TEXAS, UH, ONE IN DALLAS, WHICH WOULD'VE FACED THE STATE CAP.
UH, ALTHOUGH THE STUDY WAS PROBABLY PRIOR TO THE STATE CAP.
SO I'M GONNA SAY NO, IT DOESN'T.
IT, IT, IT, IT WAS THAT, THAT STUDY WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, 2002 TO 2013.
SO THERE WAS NO STATE CAP AT THE TIME.
SO NO, IT, THERE, THERE WAS NO SPECIFIC, AND I, I THINK I CAN SAY, UH, IN ALL 31 STUDIES, NONE.
WELL, THERE WAS ONE HOUSTON STUDY, SO MAYBE ONE, BUT I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT DIFFERENCE THAT WOULD MAKE, ALTHOUGH I, I'D SHARE YOUR CONCERN.
I DON'T KNOW THAT HAVING A A CAP REALLY WOULD CHANGE, UH, THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY.
IF, IF THIS, IF THE MECHANISMS IN THIS STUDY ARE THAT YOU'RE GETTING A, A, A, A, A LESS OPTIMAL ALLOCATION OF INVESTMENT AFTER, UH, THE TIFFS THAN BEFORE.
AND IF THAT'S THE REASON FOR SLOWER GROWTH, THEN I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE THAT CAP WOULD MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE.
AND, AND AGAIN, I'M JUST BECAUSE OF THE OFFSET POTENTIAL THAT COMES INTO PLAY OF, WELL, WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY GET THOSE DOLLARS.
MY LAST QUESTION, UH, IF I MAY JUST FINISH UP, UM, THE TURS BOND INDEBTEDNESS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, MAY NEED TO BE REISSUED BY THE CITY IF THE TOURS ARE DISSOLVED.
[01:20:01]
DO WE KNOW THAT THIS REVENUE WOULD RETURN TO THE CITY ON A CONSISTENT BASIS? AND THE REASON I ASK IS IT'S THE UNDERSTANDING OF SOME, UM, THAT THERE ARE STILL UNSETTLED LAWSUITS REGARDING THE ORIGINAL REVENUE CAP PROPOSITIONS THAT ARE IN ACTIVE LITIGATION.AND THERE'S ALSO THE ISSUE OF THE STATE REV CAP AND HOW THAT PLAYS INTO THINGS.
SO HOW COULD WE BE SURE, UH, THAT ALL OF THIS IS GONNA RETURN TO THE CITY ON A CONSISTENT BASIS VERSUS JUST BEING LOST? SO, I, I, I THINK, I DON'T WANNA PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, UH, BUT IF YOU HAVE A RESPONSE TO THAT, IT MAY ALSO BE FOR CITY LEGAL, BECAUSE IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS UNSETTLED LITIGATION.
THERE'S STILL LEGAL QUESTIONS SURROUNDING ALL OF THIS.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT'S UNSETTLED.
AND I, I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU THERE.
ALTHOUGH I, ON YOUR OTHER QUESTIONS, I DO SEE THE REAL, THE, THE, THE REAL PICKLE THAT THE COUNCIL IS IN, AND THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, YOU'RE TRYING TO GET REVENUE, YOU'RE TRYING TO AVOID THE CAP.
YOU'RE TRYING TO LESSEN THE EFFECT OF THE CAP.
UH, YET AT THE SAME TIME, SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE IS IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A TEARS, YOU LET IT DO A PROJECT, AND THEN YOU SHUT IT DOWN AND YOU JUST COM THEN COMPLETELY CREATE A NEW TEARS, NOT EXTEND IT, NOT, NOT THAT.
AND I'M WITH YOU ON LOOKING AT ADMINISTRATION, BUT THEN THAT, THAT PUTS THE PROPERTY VALUES BACK IN, BUT THEN YOU DON'T GET THE CON, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T LESSEN THE, THE, THE EFFECT OF THE CAP.
ALTHOUGH I, I STILL THINK THAT'S A VERY, I THINK THAT'S A LOT SMALLER THAN WE, THAN WE BUILD IT IN OUR HEADS.
AND I THINK, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIG UNKNOWN.
AND ALONG WITH HOW MUCH WOULD WOULD'VE GROWN WITHOUT THE TI MEAN, THESE ARE ALL THE BIG UNKNOWNS TO THESE KIND OF INSTITUTIONALIZED TS I WILL SAY IN OUR, IN OUR CIP, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, IT'S LIKE 800 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS IN TUR SPENDING.
BUT SOME OF THAT ARE, OR A LOT OF THAT IS TURS GRANTS, BECAUSE WITH THE TSS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE GOING FOR THIS VERY COMPETITIVE FEDERAL MONEY, UH MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, I SEE IT AS ANOTHER BITE AT THE APPLE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA GIVE THE CITY OF HOUSTON 10 PROJECTS OR 20 PRO, THEY'RE GONNA GIVE, BUT THEY WILL, WE DO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET THESE TOUR GRANTS.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERABLE TO BRING IN, LIKE I SAID, ANOTHER BITE OF THE APPLE TO BRING IN SOME OF THAT FEDERAL FUNDING.
AND I MEAN, UPTOWN HAS, HAS BROUGHT IN SURE.
SOME CONSIDERABLE FEDERAL FUNDS.
YEAH, I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK THROUGH OUR CIP, THERE'S MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF T GRANTS ALL, ALL THROUGHOUT THET.
UM, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WRAP THIS UP GUYS.
WE, WE HAVE SOME PUBLIC SPEAKERS ON THIS, AND WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
UM, NICK, HELL, YOU'RE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER JUST HAD TWO STATEMENTS.
ONE, UM, OR ONE QUESTION, ONE STATEMENT.
WHEN TS ARE BEING LOOKED AT INDIVIDUALLY AND WE'RE SAYING ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL FOR THE ENTIRE CITY, ARE THERE TOOLS THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT, UM, TO LIMIT OR, UM, GET BACK SOME OF THE MONEY FROM THE TS? AND THE OTHER STATEMENT SHE'D LIKE TO MAKE, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THESE AS A WHOLE IS LATELY WE'VE BEEN, UH, HEARING ABOUT SOME CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE TS WITH SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, SPECIFICALLY WITH, UH, PLEASANT HILL LOW INCOME HOUSING PROJECT.
UM, WHEN SOMEBODY DIRECTLY BENEFITS AS A BOARD MEMBER, UH, FROM T'S ACTIONS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE IN OUR, UH, TOOL BAG TO, UH, LIMIT OR, UH, LOOK AT THAT? WELL, I THINK THE ERNST AND YOUNG, UH, STUDY THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IS GONNA ROOT OUT SOME OF THAT AND, AND WE'LL BE DEALING WITH THAT.
I THINK THAT'S KIND OF BEYOND THE SCOPE OF, OF WHAT YOU'VE GOT.
BUT, UH, I THINK THERE'S ALL KIND, WHEN I WAS SPEAKING WITH MR. KING, YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE END GAME HERE? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, HOW, HOW DOES THIS WORK? AND I THINK YOU'VE KIND OF SAID IT AT THE BEGINNING, WHAT FROM YOUR, THIS IS A BAKER INSTITUTE REPORT.
THIS IS NOT THE CITY FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, IT'S A MATTER OF REDISTRIBUTING, UM, SOME OF THE, THE, THE TAX MONEY, THE PROPERTY TAX MONEY OF, OF THE, OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WAY OF REDISTRIBUTING IT TO BE MORE EQUITABLE.
THAT'S BASICALLY, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS YOU COULD DO IT.
YOU COULD RAISE THE MUNICIPAL SERVICES, BE, YOU COULD TAKE BACK SOME OF THE, THE TURS YOU COULD DO.
THERE'S A MILLION WAYS TO SKIN THIS CAT, BUT WHAT, UH, YOU'LL SEE FROM AN HOUR AND A HALF LONG CONVERSATION IS THIS A VERY, VERY INTERESTING WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AND REALLY APPRECIATE YOU AND THE BAKER INSTITUTE, UM, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU PUT INTO THIS.
THIS IS A DISCUSSION WORTH HAVING.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT ON, UH, FROM THE COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
OBVIOUSLY, TSAS HAVE DONE A LOT OF GOOD IN OUR CITY AND A LOT OF IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
UM, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SPENDING MONEY EQUITABLY AND, AND ALL THAT.
[01:25:01]
YOUR BEING HERE.WE'LL GET YOU OUT OF THE HOT SEAT FOR NOW AND BRING UP SOME PUBLIC SPEAKERS AND, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND I, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS, THERE'S MORE TO COME.
MORE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AS AT THE BAKER INSTITUTE, WE'RE NOT SUPPORTING A POSITION.
WE'RE JUST GIVING, WE WE'RE HERE TO, TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN, YOU, YOU, YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS.
WE DON'T, WE PROVIDE INFORMATION TO YOU, AND WE, WE PROVIDE THAT AS OUR SERVICE TO THE CITY.
THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT DISCUSSION.
I LEARNED A LOT AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THANK YOU COLLEAGUES FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT.
ALRIGHT, WE WILL MOVE AHEAD TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
UM, WE'LL FIRST HEAR FROM MICHAEL MOORE.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK QUICK.
UH, THANK YOU CHAIR ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
I'M MICHAEL MOORE, PRESIDENT OF UPTOWN HOUSTON.
I'M ALSO THE ADMINISTRATOR OF UPTOWN T NUMBER 16.
UH, A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MIC.
WHAT'S THAT? A LITTLE CL THERE YOU GO.
AND MY ROLE AST ADMINISTRATOR, AND I WAS FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF UNDER MAYOR BILL WHITE.
I'VE WITNESSED HOW T SUPPORT HOUSTON'S GROWTH, AND AT THE SAME TIME, I UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF CITY FINANCING.
THE UPTOWN TOURS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1999 BY CITY COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR TO ADDRESS GRIDLOCK INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES.
THREATENING HOUSTON'S LARGEST RETAIL HUB IN A KEY ECONOMIC CENTER, THE LARGEST IN THE STATE AND THE SOUTHWEST.
WITHOUT INTERVENTION BUSINESSES AND OFFICE AND RETAIL WERE CONSIDERING LEAVING UPTOWN AND POSSIBLY HOUSTON.
THE CITY USED ONE OF ITS FINANCIAL TOOLS, A TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE TO BUILD ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADWAYS, STREETS, SIDEWALKS, INTERSECTIONS, UNDERGROUND FACILITIES, PROTECTING THE TAX BASE, AND KEEPING JOBS IN HOUSTON.
SINCE CREATION, UPTOWN MARKET AREA HAS GENERATED OVER 57 BILLION IN TAXABLE RECEIPTS, RESULTING IN 1.1 BILLION IN SALES, TAX REVENUE, REVENUE FOR THE GENERAL FUND AND METRO.
THE AREA ALSO HAS CONTRIBUTED 882 MILLION IN HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES, WITH 300 MILLION GOING TO THE CITY AND THE REST GOING TO THE STATE, HARRIS COUNTY AND THE SPORTS AUTHORITY.
UH, OVER THE LAST DECADE, UPTOWN HAS GENERATED 18% OF THE CITY'S TOTAL HOT TAX REVENUE OVER THE LAST DECADE.
THIS IS FROM THE 30 PLUS HOTELS, UH, AND AROUND IN AND AROUND UPTOWN, PROPERTY TAX GROWTH, JUST OUTSIDE THE ZONE HAS OUTPACED GROWTH INSIDE FURTHER BE BENEFITING THE GENERAL FUND.
THIS IS VERY POSITIVE FOR THE CITY.
THE UPTOWN TOURS IS DELIVERING THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CITY AND VISION.
UPTOWN IS A GREAT URBAN DISTRICT, PLACE TO LIVE, EAT, CHOP, STAY, AND WORK.
HOWEVER, THE BAKER INSTITUTE, UH, RECENT ISSUE BRIEF REALIZE ON A NARROW DATA SET THAT MISREPRESENTS THE IMPACT OFT AND AS A WHOLE, THE IMPACT OF THE UPTOWN TURS.
HERE ARE SOME CRITICAL POINTS THEY MISSED.
THE UPTOWN, LIKE I SAID, THE UPTOWN TOURISM HAS DRIVEN BILLIONS IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, AND TAX REVENUE RETAINING JOBS.
IN HOUSTON, 33% OF UPTOWN'S INCREMENT GOES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO FAR, THERE'S $265 MILLION GONE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
N NONE OF IT INSIDE UPTOWN, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO UPTOWN.
75 MILLION HAS GONE TO HISD FACILITIES.
NONE OF IT IN UPTOWN, 104 MILLION WAS INVESTED IN MEMORIAL PARK, BENEFITING THE ENTIRE CITY MORE THAN 120 MILLION IN OUTSIDE FUNDING, LEVERAGING FEDERAL RESOURCES AND FOUNDATIONS LIKE THE KINDER INSTITUTE TO SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
TOTALLY OVER 51% OF THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES SINCE INCEPTION HAVE GONE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, H-I-H-I-S-D FACILITIES AND MEMORIAL PARK DIRECTLY BENEFITING ALL HOUSTONIANS 51%, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, OKAY, UH, ALL, UH, CAN I GET A LITTLE BIT LONGER? WRAP IT UP.
UH, ALL HOUSTONIANS ARE BENEFITING FROM THE CITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN UPTOWN.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT MISSED THAT, UH, THE, THAT THE BAKKER INSTITUTE MISSED WAS 97, UH, PERCENT OF ALL EMPLOYEES LIVE OUTSIDE OF UPTOWN.
UH, THE BAKERY INSTITUTE MISSED, MISSED MUCH.
I GOT MORE TO, I RESPECT THE BAKER INSTITUTE.
I'VE WORKED WITH BAKER INSTITUTE IN PREVIOUS ROLE, BUT THIS ISSUE OVERLOOKED CRITICAL FACTS LEADING TO FLAWED ANALYSIS.
UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THE AUTHORS DIDN'T CONSULT ANY TERRORIST ADMINISTRATORS OR SEEK INPUT FROM ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE TS.
HAPPY TO PROVIDE MORE CONTEXT, MORE CLARIFICATION.
HAPPY TO MEET WITH ANY COUNCIL MEMBER ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN, THANK YOU.
AND I JUST WANT YOU, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND SPEAKING AND JUST FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT, THAT TOWNS TURS HAS DONE, NOT JUST FOR THAT AREA, BUT FOR THE ENTIRE CITY OF HOUSTON.
[01:30:01]
YOU.AND I TOO, MICHAEL, WANNA EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION AS A TOURS PRIMARILY IN DISTRICT H, BUT THAT TOUCHES DISTRICT C.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE SUPPORTED MEMORIAL PARK IN TURN, THAT HAS ENABLED US TO HOST THE PGA HOUSTON OPEN, WHICH BRINGS IN, UM, AN ECONOMIC BENEFIT FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
UH, THE SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU ARE DOING TO CONTINUE TO MAKE MEMORIAL PARK, NOT JUST FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT FOR, AND NOT JUST FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, RIGHT? THE DATA SHOWS NEARLY HALF OF RESIDENTS COME FROM ALL OVER TO ENJOY MEMORIAL PARK.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK AS WELL.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, DO YOU NEED ANY MORE, UH, ADDITIONAL TIME TO FINISH YOUR THOUGHTS? SO, UH, OF THE 265 MILLION AND, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOLLARS, A HUNDRED MILLION WAS A BOND THAT WE ISSUED IN 2021.
THIS WAS FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
IT SHOWS EXACTLY WHERE ALL THE MONEY WAS SPENT OF THE ONLY, THE A HUNDRED MILLION, THE REST OF THE MONEY GOES INTO THE CITY HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UH, GENERAL FUND.
I THINK LAST YEAR, WE, UH, UPTOWN INCREMENT THAT GOES AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS ABOUT 8 MILLION OF THE TOTAL 13 MILLION IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, BUDGET.
AND, AND, UM, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THE BAKER INSTITUTE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK, TAKE INTO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, ALL OF WHERE ALL THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS, UM, NOT JUST FROM THE, THE THIRD, BUT ALSO FROM THE BONDED.
UM, YEAH, ALSO THE CRITERIA OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE.
SECTION THREE 11.005 OF THE TAX CODE.
THIS IS THE CRITERIA OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE REFERENCED.
THESE ARE ALL THE CRITERIA FOR A
THANK YOU, MICHAEL, VERY MUCH FOR COMING.
YOU'RE PROBABLY TIRED OF HEARING ME SAY THIS YEAR AFTER YEAR.
WHAT I'VE COME HERE TOUR ARE ONE OF MY THINGS.
AND THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GONNA MISS THIS MEETING.
AND I'VE SAID OVER AND OVER, IN MY OPINION, TOUR ARE, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF THE RICH GETTING RICHER AND THE REST OF THE CITY SUFFERING.
AND I GUESS THE TECHNICAL TERM FOR THAT IS REGRESSIVE.
AND, UH, THEY CONFIRMED THAT TODAY.
AND I'M JUST REALLY GLAD TO HEAR THIS CONVERSATION.
AND, UH, THE REGRESSIVENESS I THINK IS GOING TO BE ADDRESSED AND I LOOK FORWARD TO FOLLOWING IT.
NEXT, WE WILL HEAR FROM CHRISTINA CABRAL.
I THINK I'M GONNA STAND, I'M RATHER CHALLENGED IN THE HEIGHT AREA.
THIS REMINDS ME OF THAT SATURDAY.
ARE WE ADJUSTED? I FEEL VERY SPECIAL.
IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE, AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE SO MANY FAMILIAR FACES.
MY NAME IS CHRISTINA CABRAL AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION ADVOCACY GROUP, HOUSTON, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS TAG.
AND IT'S A PLEASURE BEING WITH HERE, BEING HERE WITH YOU TODAY WITH THE LEADERS HERE WHO SHARE IN OUR MISSION AND TAG'S MISSION IS SIMPLE.
IT'S TO IMPROVE MOBILITY IN THE HOUSTON REGION AND TO ADVOCATE FOR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING.
TAG COMMENDS THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR ITS LEVERAGE OF TOOLS LIKE TSAS TO MAXIMIZE RESOURCES FOR CRITICAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS BY UTILIZING LOCAL FUNDS, BOND RESOURCES, AND FORGING PARTNERSHIPS WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.
METRO AND HARRIS COUNTY TOUR HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN DRIVING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN HOUSTON'S INFRASTRUCTURE UPWARDS OF 200 MILLION MILLION ANNUALLY.
A CORNERSTONE OF THE SUCCESS HAS BEEN T'S ABILITY TO BRING EXTERNAL FUNDING TO THE CITY.
AND SOME EXAMPLES TO ADD TO COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ'S LIST THAT HE JUST MENTIONED EARLIER, WOULD BE PARTNERSHIPS THAT HAVE SECURED 65 MILLION FOR THE SHE SHEPHERD AND DURHAM DRIVE.
UM, 36 6 34 0.5 MILLION FOR NORTH PARK, AND 8 MILLION FOR HILL FOR
[01:35:01]
HILLCROFT DRIVE.UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THESE INVESTMENTS ARE IMPORTANT TO SEE, TO LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE AND, AND HOW THEY BENEFIT ALL HOUSTONIANS AND THE ENTIRE REGION.
BECAUSE THEY ARE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SERVES NOT ONLY THOSE LIVING IN THAT AREA, BUT TO THE ENTIRE AREA, TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY THIS YEAR.
OUR TRANSPORTATION HAS INFRASTRUCTURE, HAS FACED UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES DUE TO THE TWO STORMS THAT WE, THAT OCCURRED.
AND THIS UNDERSCORES THE CRITICAL NEED FOR RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS. TAG FIRMLY SUPPORTS THE CONTINUED UTILIZATION OF ALL FINANCIAL TOOLS AVAILABLE TO ENSURE HOUSTON INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE CAN MEET BOTH CURRENT DEMANDS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES.
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT TO COMMIT TO COMMITMENT AND FUNDING TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN OUR ENTIRE REGION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHRISTINA.
WE DID ALSO RECEIVE WRITTEN COMMENTS FROM DAVID HIGHTOWER, UM, OF MIDWAY, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I WILL NOT READ THEM.
I WILL MAKE SURE THAT ALL, UH, EVERYONE HAS 'EM AND THEY WILL BE, UM, DISTRIBUTED TO MY COLLEAGUES.
UM, THAT WILL WRAP UP OUR DISCUSSION ON TERZA.
AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR THIS VERY VALUABLE CONVERSATION.
THANKS TO EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.
THIS IS, UH, THE VERY BEGINNING I THINK OF, OF, UM, DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ALL CITY FINANCES.
UM, SO REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S, UM, PATIENCE HERE TODAY FOR THROUGH A LENGTHY DISCUSSION.
WE'LL NEXT HEAR FROM HOUSTON FIRST, UM, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING THEIR, UH, STRATEGY AND BUDGET FOR 2025.
THEY DO A CALENDAR YEAR BUDGET.
SO WE ARE JOINED BY MICHAEL HECKMAN AND FRANK COLEMAN.
I DON'T KNOW WHO FRANK COLEMAN IS, BUT FRANK WILSON IS HERE WITH US TODAY.
AM I ON? YES, NOW, THERE WE GO.
UH, MR. VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UH, STAFF.
IT'S ALWAYS OUR PLEASURE TO COME, UH, BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE EVERY YEAR AND TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA FINISH UP, UH, THIS YEAR FOR THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT HOUSTON FIRST DOES.
UH, ACCORDING TO, UH, UH, HELPING PROMOTE, UH, AND BOLSTER OUR VISITOR ECONOMY, WHICH IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS LOOKING AHEAD, UH, FOR THE YEAR AHEAD, OUR STRATEGIES AND THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE BUILT, UM, TO ULTIMATELY BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THOSE THINGS.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, UH, AS WE'RE SET UP AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, AS OUR TYPICAL PROCESS, UH, WE GO THROUGH OUR, OUR, UH, UH, MANAGEMENT BUILDS OUT OUR BUDGET, UH, THROUGH A VERY STRICT, RIGOROUS PROCESS OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS.
UH, WE ULTIMATELY THEN GO THROUGH OUR GOVERNANCE, UH, WHICH IS REVIEWED BY OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE AND APPROVED, AND THEN ONTO OUR BOARD, UH, WHO UNANIMOUSLY, UH, APPROVED OUR BUDGET ON, UH, ON NOVEMBER THE 14TH.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY, WE COME HERE TO CONSIDERATION, UM, BEFORE, BEFORE COUNCIL.
UM, THE, UH, UH, THE SHORT VERSION OF THIS YEAR, 2024, IS WE'VE HAD A REALLY, REALLY SUCCESSFUL YEAR, UH, IN ALMOST EVERY METRIC, UH, IN THE WAY THAT YOU LOOK AT IT.
UH, WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF VISITORS LAST YEAR IN 2023 WITH 51 MILLION.
UM, UH, OUR ESTIMATES ARE THAT WE WILL EXCEED THAT, UH, THIS YEAR.
UH, WE WILL HAVE THAT FINALIZED AT SOMETIME AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR WHEN ALL THE DATA AND REPORTS COME IN.
UM, LAST YEAR WAS A RECORD AMOUNT OF HOT COLLECTION, UH, UH, SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEEDING THE, THE, THE BEST YEAR THAT THE CITY HAD EVER SEEN IN HOT COLLECTION.
UH, WE WILL SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEED THAT THIS YEAR IN OUR HOT COLLECTIONS.
UM, AND THEN I THINK WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, UH, FOR ONE OF OUR KEY METRICS, WHICH IS HOTEL ROOMS, ROOMS BOOKED FOR ALL FUTURE YEARS, OUR RECORD WAS AROUND 820,000 THAT WE HAD BOOKED IN 2019.
UH, I THINK WHEN ALL THE CONTRACTS ARE IN BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, I THINK THAT WE WILL EXCEED THAT NUMBER.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHERE WE'LL FINISH SOME BIG CONTRACTS THAT WILL COME IN THAT WILL, THAT WILL DRIVE THAT NUMBER.
BUT, UH, UH, WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, I THINK THAT WE WILL BOOK A RECORD NUMBER OF FUTURE HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS, UH, CONTRACTED FOR FUTURE YEARS FOR, UM, OUR, OUR CONVENTION BUSINESS.
UM, I THINK THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, FRANK WILSON, OUR, OUR CF O'S GONNA WALK THROUGH THE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT, BUT I THINK THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR BUDGET IS WELL MANAGED.
UH, WE ARE BELOW BUDGET IN EXPENSES, AND WE ARE ABOVE IN, IN REVENUE.
SO THAT'S ALWAYS A REALLY GOOD SIGN.
SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT, UM, SLIDE, IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR US TO, UH, KEEP IN MIND WHAT WE
[01:40:01]
LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE DAY, WHICH IS WHAT OUR MISSION IS.OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE VALUE AND TO ENHANCE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY BY PROMOTING THE HOUSTON REGION.
THAT IN THE END IS JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.
WHEN WE ARE DOING OUR JOB AND WE ARE SUCCESSFUL, THAT MEANS OTHER COMPANIES ARE MAKING MONEY, CREATING JOBS, AND SUSTAINING OUR ECONOMY.
WE'RE ALSO VERY FOCUSED ON THIS BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SHARP LASER FOCUS ON YOUR MISSION.
YOU CAN'T GET A SKEW OFF OF YOUR MISSION.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ASKS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT WE HAVE, UH, FINITE RESOURCES, AND WE SPEND OUR TIME MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE SELLING MARKETING AND PROMOTING HOUSTON.
THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE OUR, UH, THESE HAVEN'T CHANGED BY THE WAY, FROM PREVIOUS YEARS.
UH, OUR, OUR LONG-TERM STRATEGIC PILLARS, ALL OF OUR OBJECTIVES THAT WE LAY FORWARD AND OUR PRIORITIES FALL INTO ONE OF THESE THREE CATEGORIES, WHICH IS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP, UH, DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT, OR REVENUE DIVERSIFICATION AND ASSET GROWTH.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A VERY HEALTHY ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE BIG THINGS THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN FRONT OF US, NOT JUST THIS YEAR, BUT IN THE YEARS AHEAD.
UH, AND AS, UH, AN ENTITY SORT OF SPUN OUT AND CREATED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY OUR ROLE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE REALLY BIG THINGS, UH, THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, THE WAY THAT WE ACHIEVE THOSE THINGS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS FROM A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
WE LOOK AT THESE AS OUR CORE OF OUR VALUE CREATION.
THIS IS A MANAGEMENT TOOL THAT WE LOOK AT.
ANY INITIATIVE, ANY BUDGET ITEM HAS TO BE TIED BACK TO ONE OR MORE OF THESE VALUE DRIVERS, WHICH IS DESTINATION, UH, BRAND OR IMAGE ENHANCEMENT.
UH, BEING A VERY EFFICIENT ORGANIZATION, UH, CREATING AN EXCEPTIONAL VISITOR OR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, INNOVATING AS AN ORGANIZATION, AND THEN ULTIMATELY CREATING REVENUE.
OUR GOAL IS TO BE THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE COMPANY, UM, OF OUR KIND ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND I THINK THAT YOU LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE, UH, THAT WE HAVE HAD AS A DESTINATION OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
I THINK THAT YOU WILL SEE, UM, THAT WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO DOING THAT.
THERE'S ALWAYS MORE WORK TO BE DONE.
BUT, UH, US MOVING UP, UH, IN THE NUMBERS ON WORLD'S BEST CITY RANKINGS, UH, THE US BEING ABLE TO GET RECENTLY, THE MICHELIN AWARDS HERE, AND ANY NUMBER OF WINS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE, UM, UH, I THINK THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE CERTAINLY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND SO TO GIVE A THUMBNAIL ON, UH, HOW WE'RE GONNA FINISH THIS YEAR FINANCIALLY, TURN IT OVER TO OUR CFO FRANKLS.
UH, MADAM CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE EXPECT TO FINISH, UH, WITH TOTAL REVENUE OF $242.1 MILLION.
UM, THAT'S ABOUT A 5.6%, UH, INCREASE OVER WHAT WE BUDGETED.
UH, AND WE EXPECT EXPENSES OF 224.7 MILLION, WHICH IS, UH, AS MICHAEL SUGGESTED, 1.4% BELOW WHAT WE BUDGETED.
YOU'LL NOTE THAT, UM, OUR NON-OPERATING EXPENSE, UH, WENT UP, UH, A TAD.
UM, THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE PAID DOWN, UH, $3 MILLION OF DEBT.
UH, OUR OPERATIONS WERE, UM, STRONG ENOUGH TO NOT ONLY PAY DOWN SOME DEBT, UH, BUT ALSO TO, UH, OUR REVENUES IN EXCESS OF EXPENSES OF $17.4 MILLION ALLOWED US TO DO, UH, CAPITAL.
UH, WE, INSTEAD OF PAYING FOR CAPITAL OUT OF, UH, BORROWING, UH, WE FUNDED OR EXPECT TO FUND THIS YEAR ABOUT $21 MILLION.
BUT THE STORY, THE REAL STORY IS, IS THAT CORPORATE MEETINGS ARE BACK.
UM, I THINK PART OF IT, IT IS A FUNCTION OF HYBRID WORKING, UH, IS CAUSING CORPORATIONS TO WANT TO COME TOGETHER.
AND SO WE HAD BIG GROUPS LIKE GAS TECH, WHICH WAS AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP, UH, UNITED RENTALS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BLOOD BANKS, AFRO TECH.
WE HAD 200 PLUS EVENTS IN THE GEORGIA BROWN THIS YEAR WITH 1.3 MILLION.
DO 1.3 MILLION, UM, UM, ATTENDEES.
WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MICHAEL.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE SORT OF A VISUAL REPRESENTATION, A VERY GOOD METRIC FOR US TO LOOK AT BECAUSE, UH, OCCUPANCY CHANGES AS INVENTORY CHANGES, BUT TOTAL HOTEL REVENUE TO THE MARKET IS A REALLY GOOD METRIC TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE LAST THREE YEARS.
AND THAT BLUE LINE THERE IS THIS YEAR, I THINK THAT'S THROUGH EITHER AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER, UH, WHEN, UH, WHEN WE HAD THE MOST RECENT DATA, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER, UH, WHICH IS WHAT'S GONNA DRIVE THAT HIGHEST LEVEL OF, OF HOT TAX COLLECTION IN HOUSTON'S HISTORY, UM, THAT WE'VE EVER HAD.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE JUST OUR REVENUE TRENDS.
UM, AS, AS A COMPANY, HOUSTON FIRST, UM, UH, CONTINUES TO GROW.
UH, THIS YEAR WAS A RECORD REVENUE YEAR.
UH, WE ARE BUDGETING TO BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THAT, ANOTHER RECORD REVENUE YEAR, UM, LOOKING INTO, UH, INTO NEXT YEAR.
SO ALL OF OUR, ALL OF THE METRICS ARE, ARE TRENDING HIGHER, UH, IN THE THINGS THAT WE, THAT WE LOOK AT AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE GONNA GET THERE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE HERE ARE OUR, OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
ALL OF YOU HAVE, UM, UH, THE DETAIL THAT'S BEHIND ALL OF THESE.
THESE ARE VERY HIGH LEVEL OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, OF COURSE, STRENGTHENING AND GUIDING AND MANAGING HOUSTON'S BRAND EQUITY.
THAT'S NOT ONLY ACROSS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, AND, UH,
[01:45:01]
ENSURING THAT FOLKS KNOW HOW WE ARE BRANDING THIS CITY, NOT ONLY AROUND THE US BUT AROUND THE WORLD.UH, AND REALLY TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY, UH, BEING THE STEWARDS OF, OF, OF THAT BRAND.
AND FRANKLY, WORKING HAND IN HAND, UH, WITH ALL OF THE CHAMBERS AND THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP AND THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER.
ANYONE ELSE THAT REPRESENTS HOUSTON ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, ENSURING THAT OUR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IS IN SYNC AND THAT WE ARE DELIVERING, CONTINUING TO DELIVER THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE, UH, THAT ANYONE WILL FIND ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
ONE OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS A 360 DEGREE VIEW OF, OF THE, OF THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
WHAT'S IT LIKE WHEN FOLKS DRIVE IN, WHAT THEY TAKE A BUS IN WHEN THEY LAND AT OUR AIRPORTS, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FRONT DESK AT HOTELS AND, AND, AND ALL THE REST.
WE'RE DOING TRAININGS WITH, UH, FRONTLINE TRAININGS THROUGH A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED CALLED THE HOUSTON INSIDERS TO TEACH NEW WORKERS AT RESTAURANTS, AT HOTELS, AND OTHER SERVICE ORIENTED, UH, ESTABLISHMENTS.
WHAT THERE IS TO DO, HOW DO YOU SELL HOUSTON? THERE'S A LOT TO BE ABLE TO DO HERE.
AND AS SOME OF THOSE, THOSE EMPLOYEES HAD TURNED OVER DURING COVID, WE THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, OF COURSE, OUR, OUR CONVENTIONS AND MEETINGS IS, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR WHAT WE DO.
FRANK MENTIONED ONE JUST RECENTLY, AFRO TECH, UH, WAS A SUBSTANTIAL PIECE OF BUSINESS THAT WE HAD AT THE GEORGE R. BROWN.
UH, JUST A GREAT GROUP, AROUND 20,000.
WE'VE BOOKED THEM AGAIN FOR NEXT YEAR.
UH, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE BROUGHT THEM OVER HERE TO HOUSTON.
AND SO THERE'S HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ATTENDEES THAT WE HAVE FROM OUR MEETINGS AND CONVENTION BUSINESS.
UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DRIVE THAT FORWARD.
INTERNATIONALS ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR HOUSTON, AN INTERNATIONAL CITY LIKE WE ARE, UM, ALL OVER THE WORLD.
BUT OF COURSE, IN MEXICO, MEXICO REPRESENTS 70% OF OUR INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS THAT IS GONNA TAKE SUSTAINED EFFORT, ATTENTION, AND INVESTMENT.
YOU HAVE HEARD ME, THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND THIS HORSESHOE FOR THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS, YOU'VE HEARD ME TALKING ABOUT MEXICO.
IT IS OUR GOAL TO GET BACK TO BE THE NUMBER ONE DESTINATION FOR THE MEXICAN TRAVELER TO HOUSTON RIGHT NOW.
UH, HOUSTON NEEDS TO BE NUMBER ONE, AND WE WILL MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, OUR BIGGEST PRIORITY GOING INTO NEXT YEAR, AND WE WILL BE BACK TO, TO, TO VISIT WITH EACH ONE OF YOU AS AS THE DETAILS OF THIS FILL IN, BUT OF COURSE, IS TRANSFORMING OUR CONVENTION DISTRICT.
UM, WE HAVE TAKEN SUBSTANTIAL STEPS OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF MONTHS AND WORKING WITH OUR BOARD, UH, AND WORKING WITH OTHERS TO DEVELOP WHAT THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, UH, WITH THE GOAL TO BE FINISHED BY MAY OF 2028 WITH WHAT WE'RE CALLING OUR SOUTH BUILDING OF THE GEORGE R. BROWN.
UM, UH, UH, THANKS TO THE REVENUE THAT WE'RE GONNA GET FROM THE STATE, UM, THAT IS GONNA FUND THAT PROJECT.
UM, AND, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CONVERSATION, UH, BETWEEN US AND EACH ONE OF YOU ABOUT WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE GONNA BE, AND HOW THAT'S GONNA TOTALLY TRANSFORM OUR BUSINESS AND THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ULTIMATELY, UM, ABLE TO DO FROM A CONVENTION AND MEETINGS PERSPECTIVE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, UH, OUR CULTURE, UM, UH, HOUSTON FIRST, UH, FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR HAS BEEN RATED AS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK, WHICH IS THE GOLD STANDARD ORGANIZATION THAT RATES THESE THROUGH SURVEYS.
UH, WE CAN'T DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT OUR PEOPLE AND HAVING A GREAT TEAM THAT'S PASSIONATE, UH, THAT'S EFFECTIVE, THAT FEELS INCLUDED AT, UM, UH, AT THEIR PLACE OF BUSINESS AND FEELS LIKE THEY ARE PART OF, OF THE CHANGE THAT WE ARE, ARE MAKING IN HOUSTON.
AND I, I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THAT GOING FORWARD.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST A, A SELECT LOOK AT, AT SOME OF THE 2025 CITYWIDE CONVENTIONS THAT WE HAVE, UH, AFRO TECH, YOU SEE, WE SEE GROWTH THERE FROM 20 TO 25,000.
A LOT OF MEDICAL MEETINGS, UH, WHAT WE CALL IN OUR LIFE SCIENCES SECTOR, BUT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY, VERY HARD TO GROW.
UH, MANY OF THEM GO TO THE COASTS.
WE BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE HERE IN HOUSTON WITH THE, UH, WITH THE CONVENTION FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE, THE AIRLIFT IN AND OUT.
AND OF COURSE, THE, THE, THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER IS THE LARGEST MEDICAL COMPLEX IN THE WORLD.
SO NEXT YEAR LOOKS TO BE A REALLY, REALLY STRONG YEAR AGAIN.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE YEAR AFTER, WE GO TO A LOT OF THE, THE MEGA EVENTS THAT WILL BE IN, IN HOUSTON, THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, THE WORLD CUP.
AND WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY AND HARD WITH THE HOST COMMITTEES OF EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, GROUPS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN HOUSTON THAT WE'RE MAKING THE MOST OF IT.
SO, UM, NOW I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO FRANK TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, HOW WE BUILT THE BUDGET THAT'S GOING TO SUPPORT ALL OF THOSE OBJECTIVES.
UM, AS THE SLIDE INDICATES, THIS IS A 30,000 FOOT LOOK AT THE BUDGET.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE BUDGETING A PROPOSED BUDGET OF 246.4 MILLION WITH REVENUES AND 243.3 OF, UH, TOTAL EXPENSES, UH, LEAVING REVENUES AND EXCESSIVE EXPENSES OF ABOUT 3.1 MILLION.
OUR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES ARE, ARE GOING UP.
UM, BUT THAT'S A FUNCTION OF, UH, 8.9 OF THIS.
27.1 MILLION IS FOR REBRANDING OR RECON A NEW CONCEPT FOR THE RESTAURANT IN THE HILTON.
UH, THE REMAINDER OF THAT IS GOING TO ALL OF OUR OTHER FACILITIES, ABOUT 17 MILLION.
UM, THE BUDGET'S ONLY AS GOOD AS ITS ITS ASSUMPTIONS.
[01:50:01]
WAS ARRIVED AT WITH OUR WORK WITH, UH, INDEPENDENT FORECASTERS WHO HELP US TO FORECAST HOT, UH, NO RECESSION.THAT'S THE EXPECTATION FOR NEXT YEAR.
UH, WE, WE EXPECT, UH, LESS INFLATION PRESSURE AND LOWER INTEREST RATES AS WELL.
UH, BUT WE EXPECT MODERATE GROWTH.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, LEISURE TRAVEL, WE EXPECT TO CONTINUE, BUT ALSO TO MODERATE BUSINESS TRAVEL.
WE EXPECT TO IMPROVE, UH, HOTEL OCCUPANCY AND RATES IN THE CITY.
WE EXPECT TO MODERATELY IMPROVE.
UM, WE WANNA SEE CORPORATE MEETING DEMAND CONTINUE, AND WE EXPECT A LITTLE BIT OF RETURN TO OFFICE.
HYBRID IS, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GREAT FOR SOME, BUT IT'S NOT GREAT FOR DOWNTOWN PARKING, WHICH IS A BIG PART OF OUR BUSINESS.
UH, ONE OF OUR FIVE REVENUES IS MAJOR, UH, PARKING.
UM, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE MODERATE GROWTH IN, IN THE BUDGET THAT I WAS DISCUSSING.
UM, WE EXPECT TOTAL REVENUE TO, TO ONLY GO UP BY $4.3 MILLION.
TOTAL EXPENSES GOING UP 18.6, UM, WITH, UM, PROPOSED, UH, BUDGET OF REVENUES AND EXCESSIVE EXPENSES OF 3.1, UH, MILLION DOLLARS.
UH, SOME OF THE EXPENSE INCREASES INCLUDE INSURANCE, WHICH SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE.
PROPERTY INSURANCE HAS BEEN GOING OFF, GOING UP DUE TO THE NAME STORMS AND OTHER, UH, STREAM WEATHER EVENTS.
WE'VE, UH, UH, ROLLED OUT A NEW SECURITY PROTOCOL, UH, THAT WITH A NEW CONTRACTOR THIS YEAR.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE, FOOD AND BEVERAGE IS GOING UP ABOUT $2.7 MILLION BECAUSE OF, UH, WE'RE EXPECTING THE REVENUE TO GO UP FOR ABOUT ABOUT $5 MILLION FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE BASED ON THE MIX OF BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE IN THE BUILDING.
WITH THAT, UM, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MICHAEL.
UM, I, I, I SUBMIT TO YOU, UH, THIS MORNING THAT I THINK THAT WE HAVE A VERY WELL BALANCED BUDGET.
UH, NOT ONLY BALANCED FISCALLY, BUT I THINK BALANCE OF PRIORITIES OF, UH, INVESTING BECAUSE, UH, IN OUR SALES, MARKETING AND PROMOTION, BECAUSE WE ARE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, UH, EVERY DAY WE WAKE UP KNOWING THAT PEOPLE HAVE A CHOICE AS TO WHERE TO SPEND THEIR MONEY.
UH, WHETHER IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL TRAVELER, WHETHER IT'S A CONVENTION, UH, YOU NAME IT OR WHAT, WHATEVER THAT MAY BE.
SO WE ARE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE CANNOT STAY STILL.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY TO BE GREAT STEWARDS OF THE FACILITIES THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON ENTRUSTS US, UH, TO OVERSEE AND MAINTAIN.
AND I THINK, AS FRANK MENTIONED FROM THE, UH, CAPITAL EXPENDITURES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR BUDGET, I THINK THAT WE WILL DO JUST THAT.
SO, MADAM CHAIR, UM, THAT IS OUR PRESENTATION FOR THIS MORNING.
HAPPY, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
MR. WILSON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I WILL SAY THAT THERE IS A MORE DETAILED BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO EVERYONE, AND, AND WE, UH, A LOT OF US HAD INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS, UM, LESS ANYBODY OUT THERE AND WATCHING HTV THINKS WE'RE GONNA APPROVE SOMETHING WITH FOUR LINES ON THE BUDGET.
UM, WE HAVE LOOKED INTO THE NITTY GRITTY OF THIS AND ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS, AND I'M SURE THERE ARE MORE TO COME.
UM, FIRST I WANNA CONGRATULATE HOUSTON FIRST.
UH, AND I KNOW, I THINK A LARGE PART OF THE WORK YOU DO CONTRIBUTED TO THE FACT THAT WE'RE IN NOW, AGAIN, THE TOP 50 RIGHT OF BEST CITIES IN THE WORLD AND THE WORK THAT HOUSTON FIRST DOES.
WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND THE HORSESHOE FOR SEVERAL YEARS, WHAT WE CAME IN WITH, WITH COVID AND EVERYTHING Y'ALL DEALT WITH, AND NOW WHERE WE ARE AT ONE OF THE HIGHEST, UH, REVENUE GENERATING YEARS ON RECORD, I THINK SPEAKS VOLUMES TO THE WORK OF YOUR TEAM.
UH, MICHAEL AND I ALSO HAVE TO THANK TRACY IS OUR LIAISON 'CAUSE SHE'S TERRIFIC.
UM, BUT AS YOU SAID, UH, WE'RE STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE, SO I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT AS WELL.
AND YOU HAVE ALWAYS COME TO THE TABLE WHEN WE'VE HAD SOME OF THE LABOR CHALLENGES AND WORKED THROUGH THOSE, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, ALL THE CONFERENCES THAT WE HOST, SARAH WEEKS, MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE.
UH, ALL OF THAT'S TO SAY THANK YOU.
AND I'M REALLY, REALLY IMPRESSED BY THESE NUMBERS AND HAPPY TO SEE THIS.
UH, YOU, YOU, YOU HEARD ME ASK EARLIER, UH, TO DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, THERE'S A LINE, AND I THINK EVEN IN YOUR SLIDE, UH, THERE WAS A, A PURPLE BAR OF LOANS FROM THE CITY, AND THERE'S A LITTLE DASH AND I THINK 2.7 OF IT IF YOU SCROLL THROUGH, UM, RIGHT THERE MM-HMM
AND I THINK THAT MATCHES WHAT WAS IN THE MOER AS IT RELATES TO 2.7 MILLION REFUND FROM HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION FOR BRIDGE LIGHTING.
UH, THE BRIDGES HAVE BEEN A STICKING POINT.
UH, YOU ALL KIND OF INHERITED A CHALLENGE WITH THE BRIDGES.
WE CAME TO A SOLUTION, ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE SAFETY NEEDS, NOT JUST THE BEAUTIFICATION, BUT THE SAFETY NEEDS OF THOSE BRIDGES THAT UNITE THE MUSEUM DISTRICT WITH, UH, THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CITY THAT'S DIVIDED BY 59, 69, THAT COUNCIL HAD APPROVED
[01:55:01]
THAT LOAN.BUT THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT WAS GOING TO BE SPENT ON THOSE BRIDGES WAS MORE THAN THAT 2.7.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT SOME OF THE FUNDING WITHIN YOUR BUDGET IS STILL GOING TO BE, UH, DIRECTED TOWARDS THE REPAIRS OF THOSE BRIDGES? SO WE, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO OUR PORTION OF IT THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT THE LAST ADMINISTRATION HAD ASKED US TO TAKE ON.
I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT WAS BOARD AUTHORIZED BECAUSE FOR, FOR US TO SPEND, BECAUSE SOME OF THAT WAS COMING FROM THE CITY, RIGHT? AND WE STILL DO HAVE THAT FUNDING.
UM, CURRENTLY, UH, THE 2.7 THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING, I THINK WHAT, UM, UM, UH, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI WAS, WAS REFERENCING WAS POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, RECEIVING THAT.
UM, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S MORE A QUESTION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT I THINK THAT THE VIEW WAS TO FIND ADDITIONAL REVENUE STREAMS TO BE ABLE TO STILL COMPLETE THAT PROJECT.
AND THE REASON I ASK, AND AGAIN, THOSE OF YOU THAT REMEMBER WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER WEEK OF RESIDENTS COMING DOWN, UH, AND, AND WE HAD MADE A PROMISE TO THEM, UH, AND WE THOUGHT THIS WAS BEHIND US.
AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST THE BEAUTIFICATION, IT'S THE SAFETY OF IT WITH RAILINGS FALLING DOWN, THE ACTUAL PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING ACROSS THOSE BRIDGES.
AND, AND, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT, THAT THE, THE ACTUAL SAFETY PORTION OF IT WAS WHAT HOUSTON FIRST HAD HAD TAKEN ON SOME YEARS AGO.
IT WAS THE DECORATIVE LIGHTING, AND THAT IS JUST AS A REMINDER FOR EVERYONE, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, AND, AND, UH, I SUPPORTED IT AND CHAIR AND I AS WELL TALKED, HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UH, MANY TIMES.
UM, IT, IT WAS A PROJECT THAT WAS COMPLETED, UH, JUST BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL IT WAS A PROJECT THAT WAS SORT OF RUSHED THROUGH TO GET DONE.
I THINK IT WAS THE MONTROSE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT THAT I THINK HAD ORIGINALLY TAKEN IT.
AND THEN I THINK, I DON'T KNOW AS MANY AS OTHERS DO ABOUT THAT MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, BUT I THINK THEY CEASED OPERATIONS OR WENT DORMANT OR SOMETHING.
AND THEN, UM, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION HAD TAKE ASKED, UH, HOUSTON FIRST TO TAKE THAT ON.
UH, THERE WAS A SERIES OF CONTINUAL FAILURES OF, AND IT WOULD JUST BECAME A SYSTEM THAT JUST, THAT JUST DID NOT WORK ANYMORE.
JUST RECENTLY, WE DID FINISH, UH, WE PAID FOR AND DID FINISH A DESIGN.
SO THE DESIGN IS NOW COMPLETE.
UM, UM, FOR THAT, FOR ONCE, ONCE THERE IS THE, THE APPROPRIATE FUNDING THAT, THAT, THAT CAN BE ALLOCATED TOWARDS IT.
AND AGAIN, I, UH, IT'S NOT DIRECTED TOWARDS Y'ALL.
WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO GET A WAVE OF, UH, FEEDBACK FROM RESIDENTS ON THIS.
AND AGAIN, THE BEAUTIFICATION LIGHTING, I'VE EVEN ASKED, CAN WE JUST PULL IT DOWN AND WHAT WOULD THAT COST? RIGHT? SO WE JUST HAVE TO DO SOMETHING 'CAUSE IT'S FALLING APART, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE STREET LIGHTING COMPONENT THAT'S A, A LEGITIMATE SAFETY CONCERN.
BOTH FOR DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS ALIKE.
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, FIGURING THIS OUT TOGETHER.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, FEW STATE A FEW COMMENTS, UH, THEN A QUESTION AT THE END, BUT FIRST, UH, JUST CONGRATULATIONS AS WELL, UH, MICHAEL AND FRANK, AND YOU KNOW, TRACY AND THE REST OF THE TEAM FOR EVERYTHING Y'ALL BEEN DOING.
UM, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL, Y'ALL RECENTLY HAD A STATE OF HOSPITALITY, WHICH WAS A GREAT TURNOUT.
UM, I THINK IT, IT HELPS, UM, AS, AS, AS YOU SHARED ON STAGE, YOU KNOW, HELP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL IN ALIGNMENT WHEN WE'RE INVITING FOLKS AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SETTING THE, THE TONE FOR WHAT HOUSTON IS AND, AND HOW WE WANNA MAKE SURE HOUSTON IS, IS FORESEEING SO, UH, IS SEEN AS WELL.
ALSO, THE MICHELIN GUIDE WAS A GREAT EVENT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE THE INAUGURAL, UH, EVENT HERE IN HOUSTON.
AND I KNOW THAT, AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN ONGOING, UM, TASK TO INVITE FOLKS AND SAY THAT HOUSTON IS HERE TO, UH, FOR BUSINESS.
WE WANT, UH, HEADS IN BEDS AS WELL.
UM, AND Y'ALL HAVE BEEN DOING A, A GREAT JOB, UH, BY THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I APPRECIATE YOU HIGHLIGHTING AFRO TECH, UM, AND BEING ABLE TO BRING IT FROM AUSTIN.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN SPEAKING TO THE, THE PAST FEW MONTHS IS WHAT DOES TECH AND INNOVATION MEAN TO HOUSTON? UM, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE COMPETITORS NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM US, LIKE AUSTIN.
UM, AND, AND AS I LOOK AT SLIDE NINE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE 2025 CITYWIDE CONVENTIONS, HOW, HOW DO YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM SOME OF THE, THE, THE SAME, UH, MARKETS THAT YOU PROBABLY TOUCH, WHICH ARE GREAT, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO BRING THOSE IN, HOW DO YOU, UH, STEP OUTSIDE OF THAT TO CONTINUE TO SAY, HEY, TECH AND INNOVATION, WHY AREN'T WE THE, THE TECH AND INNOVATION HUB, UH, FOR THE STATE NOW? AND, AND SO ATTRACTING THOSE FOLKS TO, TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S SPACE HERE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, SEPARATE FROM THAT KIND OF, BUT IN ALIGNMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I RECENTLY WAS ABLE TO, UH, INTERACT WITH FOLKS FROM THE WC, WBC, THE WORLD BOXING COUNCIL.
UH, THEY'RE ACTUALLY, UH, KICKING OFF THEIR, THEIR CONVENTION IN GERMANY THIS WEEK, I THINK LATER THIS WEEK.
UM, FROM MY CONVERSATIONS, THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, INTERESTED IN COMING TO HOUSTON.
[02:00:01]
AND SO I DEFINITELY WANNA CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON TECH AND INNOVATION.BUT THESE OTHER, UM, UM, CONVENTIONS THAT ARE POSSIBLE TO BRING HERE, UH, HOW DO WE START FITTING THOSE INTO THIS PUZZLE THAT, AGAIN, IT'S A REALLY, REALLY GREAT FORMULA, BUT HOW DO YOU MAKE IT EVEN BETTER? YEAH.
AND THAT, AND THAT'S THE WAY WE, WE LOOK AT IT, WHICH WE NEVER WANT TO, WE NEVER WANNA REST.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE INVESTING IN THE, IN THE CONVENTION CAMPUS AS WELL, SO THAT WE HAVE THE, THE MORE CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO, UM, UH, TO TECH AND INNOVATION, UH, I'D SAY THAT WE PUT A REALLY BIG FOCUS ON STEM, SO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH, UM, UH, TYPE OF EVENTS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCE HERE TO PULL FROM.
SO AEROSPACE, UH, THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER ENERGY.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT TO AN ASSOCIATION OR A CORPORATE GROUP, WHAT THE RESOURCE IS HERE, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY COMPELLING.
UM, BUT WE ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO LOOK AT, AT, AND I'D SAY THAT IT'S NOT REALLY AN EITHER OR YOU CAN, YOU CAN CHASE ALL OF THESE THINGS.
SO WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THE FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THE CONVERSATION, ON, ON, ON BOXING, UM, UH, ON ANY OF THESE TYPE OF, OF CONFERENCES, BUT ALSO FESTIVALS.
FESTIVALS ALSO BRING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LOOK TO YOUR COMMUNITY.
A LOT OF TIMES THAT'S YOUNG PEOPLE, A LOT OF TIMES THAT CAN BE MEDIA THAT CAN BE BROUGHT IN.
SO I'D SAY IT'S A, IT'S A YES TO ALL OF THE ABOVE TYPE TYPE OF AN APPROACH.
AND I'M JUST GONNA SAY THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE, ON, ON THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES.
OUR THEATER DISTRICT NEEDS IT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ALSO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR LABOR GROUPS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER AND JUST ANY OTHER, UH, HOUSTON FIRST, UH, FACILITY.
UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S THE HOSPITALITY THAT, THAT IS THE FIRST TOUCH TO, UH, FOLKS.
AND SO WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE SEEN AS A BIG, AS A PART OF THAT BIGGER PICTURE AND COMP COM COMPENSATED AS WELL, THEN IT, IT JUST FITS TO MAKING WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THAT CONVENTION CENTER KIND OF OPENS UP ON THE, IN YOUR DISTRICT BACK TO THE EAST END, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DON'T MAKE THAT JUST LIKE A, A WALL, LIKE A BACK DOOR.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
WHAT A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
AND IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO HEAR, UH, OUR HOUSTON FIRST WHO DO HANDLE OUR TOURISM AND BUSINESSES DOING WELL.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, I'M A CHEERLEADER FOR FIRST HOUSTON.
FIRST ALWAYS BEEN THE MICHELIN, UH, HOSTING WAS PHENOMENAL.
AND, UH, IT REALLY MADE ME FEEL PROUD AND BEING A PART OF HOUSTON.
AND OF COURSE, UH, AS I SAY, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EXPANSION THAT, THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE HANDLING.
AND THE MAYOR, UH, I WAS, UH, PROUD OF THE FACT THAT IN TWO, 2004 TO BE PART OF THAT EARLY ON WHEN THE AMERICAN HILTON HOTEL WAS BUILT TO BRING IN 10,000 PEOPLE IN A RELIGIOUS CONVENTION, UH, WHICH EVERYBODY BRAGGED ABOUT HOUSTON THEN, AND, UH, WAIT TILL THEY SEE WHAT'S COMING, UH, IN THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COLLEAGUES.
I APPRECIATE YOUR HANGING IN THERE WITH ME.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK, UH, JUSTICE AND RUSSELL FOR RISING TO THE OCCASION AS, UH, WE'RE ON BABY WATCH FOR, FOR JORDAN FRAZIER.
AND SO, UH, STAY TUNED FOR MORE.
THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED BUDGET FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY, JANUARY 13TH AT 2:00 PM WE'RE SWITCHING IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION TODAY.