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Six Month Report
People ask, “Is it what you expected?” On January 2nd, I didn’t know what to expect, with a new mayor, a new responsibility, and a new staff. Several months in, I’m immensely pleased and grateful for the accomplishments achieved, the relationships forged, and the experience of getting to make an impact on big issues. We’ve worked hard every day to get things done. At the halfway point of the first year, here is a summary of some major accomplishments, as well as some of the important behind the scenes work.
Public safety
1. Council passed my budget amendment (no small feat!) to add a sixth cadet class at the Houston Police Academy, with overwhelming support from Mayor John Whitmire and other council members. This will help alleviate the trend of officers retiring or leaving outpacing new hiring and hopefully get us on the road to quicker response times. I will be meeting with HPD over the next few weeks to see what my office can do to support recruitment.
2. Council approved a budget for the Houston Forensic Science Center (our crime lab) that includes more money to outsource backlogged lab work to private labs. Our severe shortage of lab analysts had contributed to the backlog in our criminal courts, delaying justice for victims.
3. I donated $23,000 from the At-Large 1 council office budget to fund salaries of 3 mental health crisis call takers during the last month of the next fiscal year. These call takers help direct non-violent Houstonians in mental health crisis away from jail cells to the proper resources.
4. Cancelled the costly, inefficient Shot Spotter contract to help pay for the additional police cadet class. We will focus on adding more officers to patrol our streets and more effective technology to help our police.
5. Paused funding for the Joint Inmate Processing Center (JPC), the booking center operated by Harris County but used by HPD, to identify next steps to reduce the unacceptably high number of jail deaths and improve long wait times for HPD officers booking inmates.
6. Passed my budget amendment to fund a language access coordinator position to enhance outreach on emergency services and other important public safety information to all Houstonians regardless of English fluency.
7. Visited and examined the non-violent offender mental health programs listed below to reduce public safety costs by saving jail cells and police runs for the truly dangerous offenders.
a. Ed Emmett Jail Diversion Center
b. Recovery “sobering” Center
c. Mobile Crisis Outreach Team
d. Crisis Call Diversion
8. Compiled financial and impact data to help determine how to make up for anticipated loss of ARPA funds for these initiatives over next 1-3 years.
Financial Responsibility
- Paused the renewal of a tax abatement program to determine whether it actually creates good jobs and attracts new companies -- or just increases your tax burden
- Voted for Mayor Whitmire’s idea to hire an outside expert to identify efficiencies and determine where we can save taxpayer money and help close our structural deficit
- Fought for more rigorous performance metrics for “public services” contracts, that aim to provide services like homelessness case management and job training, by publicly interrogating the current standards for such contracts.
- Successfully reduced the 5 year, $25 million contract for art acquisition by $10 million.
Participatory democracy
Listened to stakeholders and made government responsive to their needs
- Heard concerns of restaurant owners and workers about a proposed parking meter extension plan, and supported its withdrawal
- Co-hosted a public meeting of over 200 Houstonians to gather input on the site selection of the proposed Hispanic Research Center in response to complaints about the lack of real community engagement.
- Listened to community members concerns about inadequate online access to the library’s Hispanic Collection and then advocated for greater access, bringing us closer to agreements for digitization of key parts of the collection to make history more accessible
- After visiting two apartment complexes owned by developers seeking federal tax credits for new projects, I secured commitments from them to improve living conditions at their existing projects, by upgrading security, fixing dangerous construction, and getting rid of vermin.
We sought input from stakeholders and carried their concerns forward, such as on the
- High cost of detention requirements and other rules that discourage development and contribute to housing costs
- Inefficient practices in the city’s permitting process that cause delays, increase costs, and discouraging development
- Effects of the winter freeze on the elderly and impoverished
- Cancer cluster relocation plan
- Consulted three civic groups on ways to improve disaster communication
Community Support
- Responding to concerns of East End community members about the Greyhound bus station relocation into their neighborhood, I met with state and local officials and identified some next steps
- Collaborated on ice, water, and food distribution in Denver Harbor area in wake of Derecho
- Supported Spring Branch ice and water distribution in wake of Derecho
- Obtained donation of food for 5th Ward distribution
City Council Committee Assignments
Chair, Quality of Life
Vice-chair, Service Delivery
Member, Public Safety, Arts and Culture, Ethics, Prop A, Budget and Finance
Be sure to follow the At Large 1 team on social media for updates and information.
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