Mayor's Press Release
Mayor Whitmire Announces Proposed City of Houston FY '25 Budget
May 14, 2024 -- Proposing no new taxes or fees, Mayor John Whitmire outlined his FY '25 City of Houston budget today, highlighting operational efficiencies and addressing years of the city's financial deficits inherited by his administration.
During a news conference attended by several city council members and city department directors, the mayor said his proposal builds toward a sustainable FY'26 and beyond, along with implementing city-wide efficiencies and cost savings review. It also strengthens collaboration with other levels of government and addresses public safety staffing needs with five cadet classes for the Houston Fire and Houston Police departments.
"I have only been mayor for five months, and I inherited a mess, which at the time was a projected budget gap of $160 million heading into FY'25," said Mayor Whitmire. "The Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget is my first budget, and a large financial challenge is ahead. While we were able to close the budgetary gap using a combination of recurring expenditure reductions and a draw on fund balance, we know there is much more work to do ahead of us."
The proposed budget for all funds totals $6.73 billion, an increase of $442 million, or 7 percent, compared to the current FY2024 budget of $6.29 billion.
The FY2025 Proposed General Fund budget of $3.03 billion reflects an increase in spending of $62.3 million or 2.1 percent from the FY2024 Current Budget of $2.97 billion. This increase is primarily attributable to pay increases of 3.5 percent for police and increases associated with the draft Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for fire.
The mayor's proposed budget takes a business-like approach to prioritizing critical services for Houstonians while making bold choices to confront the City of Houston's needs, resources, and challenges.
"While we are looking for efficiencies and cost savings, we cannot discount the fact that we are under strict limitations on our revenues," said Mayor Whitmire. "I recognize and highlight three revenue constraints Houston confronts that do not exist in other large cities in Texas: 1.) a locally imposed revenue cap on top of the state cap, 2.) no dedicated revenues to support solid waste operations, and 3.) no support from a city-owned utility."
Despite the financial challenges confronting the City of Houston in FY '25, Mayor Whitmire said he remains encouraged regarding our outlook.
"Houston is a great city with a bright future. We will seek to partner in new ways with other levels of government, adjust how we deliver services and the costs required to do so, and discuss reasonable potential modifications to our revenue model," said the mayor.