Without increasing taxes or fees, Mayor Whitmire explains how he unveiled a 'balanced budget'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Despite facing a more than $300 million deficit, Houston Mayor John Whitmire unveiled a proposal that balances the budget without increasing fees or taxes, but he couldn't rule them out for future years.

Surrounded by several staff and council members, Mayor John Whitmire laid out his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year. "This date is one of the reasons I ran for mayor," Whitmire said.

Satisfaction he said stems from the nearly 650-page document his office released. The pages filled with ways the city plans to spend taxpayer money.

Whitmire's proposed budget is $7 billion, which is slightly more than last year. In it, he wants to spend nearly seven percent more on infrastructure, which includes items like water leak repairs.

"This budget will spend almost half a billion dollars on drainage and street repairs," Whitmire said. "The highest in anyone's memory."

NO NEW TAXES OR FEES, BUT THAT COULD CHANGE

To balance the budget, Whitmire said he relied on findings from a study. The city paid more than half a million dollars to look into how it operates. Whitmire said the results allowed them to cut millions. "Through efficiencies, and eliminating waste, duplication, reorganization of city departments and cost saving measures," Whitmire said. Savings not just found through a study, but retiring staff. Last week, more than a thousand city workers took an early retirement deal.

"37 percent of those eligible retired," Whitmire explained. "Our goal was 25 percent. We're saving $100 million." One thing Whitmire said you won't find in his proposal is more taxes and fees. But it may not be that way forever.

The city is studying a possible trash fee, and exploring other options as Whitmire tries to continue the budget in the coming years.

"Everything's on the table," Whitmire said. "How could I not allow Houstonians to speak to their elected officials, starting with their mayor. They will help us make that decision."

WHITMIRE'S BUDGET INCLUDES POLICE RAISES, BUT WILL GET MORE OFFICERS?

Whitmire's proposed budget includes a 10% raise for HPD officers. Last week, he announced a deal with the union to increase officers' pay by about 36% over the next five years.

Last year, Whitmire proposed a 3.5% pay increase for officers. Despite the increase, ABC13 obtained documents showing officer numbers remained flat over the last year. Right now, HPD is about 1,200 officers short, which is about the same number as last year. ABC13 asked Whitmire if this year's higher raise proposal will make a difference.

"The real problem we were facing, and it's been addressed in this new contract is retention," Whitmire explained. "As quickly as we were getting cadets, we were losing veterans to the surrounding jurisdictions." Although he believes it may help with retention, Whitmire couldn't promise the increased pay will get more officers on the street. "There's no guarantees," Whitmire said.

ONE PERSON WAS NOTICEABLY ABSENT FROM THE BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT

During Tuesday's budget proposal announcement, Whitmire was surrounded by several staff members, police chief and city council members. The person who reviews the city's money though, wasn't at the budget announcement.

Controller Chris Hollins said he wasn't involved in the budget proposal. The city's chief financial officer said he received the proposal the same time as ABC13 on Tuesday morning. He told ABC13 he's still going through it, and plans to release his thoughts Wednesday during a budget meeting he's hosting. The meeting takes place from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Baker Ripley's House in Houston's East End.

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