* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [FY 2026 Budget Workshop: City Council on May 19, 2025.] [00:00:17] CITY COUNCIL. HERE WE ARE. YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. VENITA JONES, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AND UM, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. ALL RIGHTY. OH, OKAY. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS VENITA JONES AND THIS MORNING I WILL BE PRESENTING CITY COUNCIL'S FY 26 PROPOSED BUDGET. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THERE ARE 16 COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ASSIST THE MAYOR WITH OVERSEEING THE CITY OF HOUSTON. WITHIN THOSE 16 COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE HAVE 11 DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS, DISTRICT A THROUGH DISTRICT K. WE HAVE FIVE AT LARGE, COUNCIL MEMBERS AT LARGE, ONE THROUGH AT LARGE. FIVE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE VISION HOUSTON COUNCIL MEMBERS, THEY HAVE A PLAN, THEY HAVE A VISION TO GO FROM VISION TO VICTORY AND YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA SAY, HOW ARE THEY GONNA DO THAT? WELL, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS PLAN ON ADOPTING GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS THAT REFLECT THE, THE, THE NEEDS OF THE, EXCUSE ME, TO REFLECT THE NEEDS OF THE CONSTITUENTS AND THESE NEEDS WILL ALIGN WITH THE MAYOR'S INITIATIVES. THERE ARE A COUPLE INITIATIVES THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE TRYING TO BE ALIGNED WITH THIS INFRASTRUCTURE, HOMELESSNESS, REDUCED CRIME, QUALITY OF LIFE, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY TO NAME A FEW, A FEW. SO ONCE THESE ARE DONE AND THEY GET POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO HELP HOUSTON AS A WHOLE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART FOR HOUSTON CITY COUNCIL. AS I STATED BEFORE, THERE ARE SIX COUNCIL MEMBERS. YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE 16 OFFICES HERE AND THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THE PROPOSED FTE WILL BE 88.6 FTES. THERE'S AN AVERAGE OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE STAFFERS PER EACH COUNCIL OFFICE BELOW UC, CITY COUNCIL GENERAL, THAT IS WHERE THE HEALTH BENEFITS RESIDE FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR STAFF. AND THEN YOU SEE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND. I WILL GO IN DETAIL CONCERNING COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND LATER ON IN MY PRESENTATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE DEMOGRAPHICS FOR FY 25 AND FY 25. THE GENDER WAS 63% FEMALE, 37% MALE. AS FAR AS ETHNICITY, WE HAD 33% HISPANIC LATINO, 32% WHITE, 32% BLACK, 3% ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE PUT ALL MY GLASSES DOWN. I WILL GIVE YOU A COMPARISON OF THE ADOPTED BUDGET FROM FY 25 TO THE PRESENT PROJECTED BUDGET FOR FY 26 AND FY 25. THERE WAS $15,249,500 ADOPTED FOR CITY COUNCIL. THE OFFICE OPERATING WAS 9,073,812, WHICH LEFT EACH OFFICE WITH 567,114, WHICH INCLUDED A $1,674 REDUCTION FROM EACH OFFICE PER TWO AMENDMENTS THAT WERE GIVEN LAST YEAR. THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND WAS $5,500,000 AND THE HEALTH BENEFIT WAS 675,688. AS YOU GO ON, YOU'LL SEE THE KERN BUDGET HAS INCREASED. THE ONLY REASON FOR THE INCREASES WERE FOR HOPE ADJUSTMENT, RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS COUNCIL, DISTRICT SERVICE FUND CARRY FORWARD AND THE CARRY FORWARD FOR COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND. THOSE ARE PROJECTS THAT WERE APPROVED IN FY 24 BUT WERE NOT ABLE TO BE COMPLETED DURING THAT FISCAL YEAR. SO THEY WILL CARRY FORWARD TO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS FY 25, WHICH IS 3,519,753. THERE WERE ALSO AN INCREASE FROM THE HEALTH BENEFITS AND ALSO THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYMENT OPTION. THAT IS WHY IT INCREASED THIS FISCAL YEAR. THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR CITY COUNCIL FOR FY 26 WILL BE $16,198,664. EACH OFFICE WILL HAVE $626,033 FOR THEIR BUDGET. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THESE ARE THE INCREASES THAT YOU WILL SEE IN YOUR BUDGET FOR FY 26. THEY ARE FOR THE FULL-TIME FY 25. HOPE IT'S THE FULL-TIME FOR FY 26. [00:05:01] YOU HAVE PART-TIME FY 25 HOPE, HOPE ALLOWANCES, MUTUAL PENSION INCREASE WHAT GAVE YOU A LITTLE INCREASE AND THEN THE LAST THREE WERE THE IT INCREASES. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. YOU WILL HAVE DECREASES AND THOSE WILL BE FROM THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYMENT OPTION AS WELL. MUNICIPAL PENSION WENT DOWN AND THE LAST FOUR WILL BE FROM IT. THAT DECREASED YOUR BUDGET. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. FOR COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND, AS I STATED, THE CARRY FORWARD WAS $3,519,753. THE ADOPTED FY 25 WAS $5,500,000. THIS IS FOR ONLY THE DISTRICT OFFICE. THE 11 DISTRICT OFFICES RECEIVED $500,000 ADDITIONALLY EACH FOR THEIR OFFICE. CURRENTLY THE CARRY FORWARD FOR FY 25 IS UNDETERMINED. WE WILL NOT KNOW THAT AMOUNT UNTIL JUNE 30 OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. THE PROPOSED CDSF WILL BE 5,500,000. AGAIN, $500,000 PER EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT OFFICE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. I TRY TO GRASP MOST OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT ARE UTILIZED WITH THESE FUNDS COUNCIL MEMBERS, THEY DO GREAT, GREAT THINGS WITH THIS COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND. I HIGHLIGHTED SEVERAL OF THEM ON THESE PAGES AND YOU CAN GO THROUGH AND SEE EXACTLY WHAT THE MAJOR PROJECTS ARE THAT THEY DO WITH THE FUNDING FROM THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND. NEXT PAGE PLEASE. NEXT PAGE PLEASE. THE PROGRAM DETAILS PROGRAM ONE WOULD BE THE COUNCIL OFFICES $10,700,000 WOULD BE THEIR BUDGET FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR AS PROPOSED. AND THE REASON FOR THE INCREASE AGAIN, IS FOR THE HOPE INCREASES AND THE HEALTH BENEFITS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. PROGRAM TWO IS THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND, $5,500,000 WITH $500,000 GOING TO EACH DISTRICT OFFICE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE VOLUNTARY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAYMENT OPTION, THERE WERE FIVE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES FOR CITY COUNCIL. TWO OF THEM ACCEPTED IT, WHICH WAS GIVEN US A SAVINGS OF $26,067. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AS FAR AS THE GENERAL FUND, 89% OF CITY COUNCIL'S BUDGET IS ALLOCATED TO PERSONNEL. AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT IS A GREAT CHUNK OF THE FUND FOR CITY COUNCIL. AND THE OTHER IS $1,169,000 YOU SEE ARE BROKEN DOWN. IN OTHER CATEGORIES YOU HAVE 40.2 21% AND THAT'S FOR RESTRICTED ACCOUNTS, WHICH ARE YOUR IT ACCOUNTS. YOU HAVE OTHERS CHARGES AND SERVICES. AT 34%, YOU HAVE SUPPLIES 22 AND CAPITAL NINE. CAPITAL AT 3.25%. THAT'S HOW YOUR WHOLE BUDGET IS SPENT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AGAIN, THE SAME THING. YOU WILL SEE ON YOUR EXPENSES, MOST OF YOUR EXPENSES. AS YOU CAN SEE, 89% WILL GO TO PERSONNEL AND THEN ALL OF YOUR EXPENSES, AGAIN GOES DOWN TO ONLY SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. HERE YOU WILL SEE A MAP OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND IT BREAKS DOWN ALL OF THE DISTRICTS FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND I HAVE GATHERED A FEW OF THEIR PRIORITIES AND INITIATIVES. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW THOSE, YOU MAY SEE EXACTLY WHERE THEIR DISTRICTS ARE AND WHAT THEIR INITIATIVES ARE THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON. THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THAT AT LARGE COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO THEIR PRIORITIES AND INITIATIVES ARE SHOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. AND YOU MAY REVIEW THOSE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. I HAVE MORE PRIORITIES INITIATIVES. THESE ARE SORT OF A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ON THE MAP FOR EACH OF THE OFFICE. ALL 16 OFFICES HAVE GIVEN PRIORITIES AND INITIATIVES THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO COMPLETING THIS FISCAL YEAR. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THESE ARE THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS FOR FY 25. YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE 'EM LABELED PER DEPARTMENT AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICT FUNDING WENT IN FY 25. AND WE ALSO HAVE A WEBSITE ONLINE WHERE YOU CAN GO AND VIEW ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE WITH THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND TO DATE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. FY 25. YOU CAN SEE FOR THE METRO PROJECTS $4,268,411 WERE SPENT TOTALLY TO PUBLIC WORKS ON PROJECTS. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 95 PROJECTS AND I FORGOT TO MENTION, THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 325 PROJECTS, UM, FOR THE OPERATING. SO WE WERE DOING MORE THAN 400 PROJECTS WITH THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS. AND NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN THE, [00:10:01] THESE ARE ALL OF THE IT ACCOUNTS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE, THESE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESCRIPTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME AT THIS TIME? SORRY. BERNITA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS BUDGET TOGETHER. THANKS TO MERRICK. I KNOW HE CRUNCHES A LOT OF NUMBERS THERE TOO. AND LAURA KARINA KENITRA, EVERYBODY THAT WORKS IN YOUR OFFICE DOES SUCH A GOOD JOB SERVING US. WE REALLY ARE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING. COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER HAS A QUESTION. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY, ANY ROOM FOR SAVINGS ON, UM, ON PHONES? YOU KNOW, QUITE FRANKLY, MOST OF US HAVE OUR PHONES FORWARDED TO CELL PHONES AND SUCH AND IT SEEMS LIKE A DUPLICATE, UH, RESOURCE THAT MAYBE, I MEAN, SINCE I'VE BEEN IN OFFICE, I THINK I'VE TAKEN TWO CALLS ON THAT DESK PHONE. BUT DOES THAT IMPACT? I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IT'S KIND OF A, I DON'T KNOW, JUST CURIOUS. SEEMS, IT SEEMS LIKE A WASTE I GUESS. SO THE PHONES ARE ACTUALLY OUT OF, IN IT. THEY, THEY GIVE THE MONEY TO CITY COUNCIL TO COVER YOUR PHONE CHARGES. SO I THINK THE IT DEPARTMENT WOULD HAVE TO DETERMINE IF THAT'S A SAVINGS FOR THEM BECAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY COMING FROM THEM TO YOUR BUDGET. YES MA'AM. YEAH. AND WHAT WE HEARD IN THE IT PRESENTATION IS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GETTING PHONE CALLS ON TEAMS NOW MM-HMM . UM, SO THERE, THERE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AS A BODY. UM, FOR SURE. YES SIR. GOOD POINT. MM-HMM . SO YOU LISTED OUT THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS BY DEPARTMENT. IF WE COULD GO TO THAT SLIDE, UH, COULD DEFINITELY SEE HPD AS LEADING THE CHARGE ON COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS. IS THERE I REMEMBER SOMETHING AND SINCE I DON'T GET 'EM, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER. UM, ARE, ARE, ARE SOME COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS, DO THEY GO TO NONPROFITS? YES. AGENCIES. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. YES. IT STILL GOES THROUGH A DEPARTMENT FIRST. YES. AND THEN THROUGH THE AGENCY. SO THAT, THAT MONEY WOULD BE CAPTURED IN THIS, IN THIS SLIDE. DEPENDING ON THE AGENCY, YES. DEPENDING ON WHICH DEPARTMENT IS SUPPORTING THEM. YES. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, YOU'RE SO GOOD ABOUT MEETING WITH EACH OF US ABOUT OUR BUDGET. I THINK WE'RE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH, WITH THE, THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET. APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK, VENITA AND ALL YOUR TEAM. WE LOVE YOU GUYS. WE LOVE YOU. TAKE CARE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. TAKE A, UH, WE DO HAVE A, A PUBLIC SPEAKER. HE REGISTERED BUT HE'S LOGGED OFF. HE REGISTERED MR. JACKSON. UM, BUT HE DOESN'T, IT DOES NOT APPEAR. HE HAS REMAINED WITH US ON THE, THE CALL. SO, UM, ANYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK EITHER VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, COLLEAGUES WILL BREAK FOR A FEW MINUTES AND COME BACK WITH THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.