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Houston City Council and Mayor John Whitmire are prioritizing improvements to the wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, along with large projects, including airport renovations, in the $14.5 billion, 5-year capital improvement plan approved Tuesday.
The city’s deficit also played a part as several amendments brought forward by council members touting unfunded projects in their districts were rejected because of a lack of funds.
The plan eventually was approved unanimously by the council after about an hour of deliberation about the amendments.
The document is hundreds of pages long and lays out the city’s infrastructure priorities in fiscal year 2025 through fiscal 2029. The CIP is a living document updated annually by council and the mayor’s office and can change year-to-year based on the city’s shifting needs and elected officials’ priorities.
The plan reflects a $3 billion jump from the last time it was updated in June 2023, largely due to a windfall in hotel occupancy taxes that will fund an expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center and other downtown improvements.
Legislation authored by Whitmire last year while he was still a state senator allows the city to use the occupancy taxes over the next 30 years. About $2 billion is expected to be generated by the taxes that can be spent on upgrading the convention center and surrounding entertainment district.
A majority of the $14.5 billion in spending, about $11 billion, will go toward enterprise programs, which includes drainage, roads, aviation and the combined wastewater and drinking water system.
Of that money, $3.86 billion is expected to be spent on wastewater and $2.16 billion is planned to be spent on the water utility.
The storm drainage system will see just over a billion dollars in spending, but many officials around the horseshoe say that is not enough. Amendments to fund drainage projects across Houston were offered by several council members but were rejected by Whitimire’s administration, citing a lack of funding.
The meeting saw a lengthy back-and-forth between Vice Mayor Pro Tem Amy Peck, who represents District A, and Whitmire over the Spring Shadows Paving and Drainage project. Peck asked that any of the city’s unspent drainage funds be allocated to the long-delayed project, but Whitmire rejected the proposal in order to maintain some excess funds in case of overspending on an ongoing project.
“Each and every one of y’all’s districts I represent. I want these (drainage projects) to be done timely, transparent and express to the public how short on funding we are,” Whitmire said.
The city soon may be forced to spend more money on drainage as a lawsuit makes its way through the state courts’ system. An appeals court ruled in April that the city violated its city charter by by shorting about $100 million annually a fund that is supposed to be dedicated to drainage projects.
The city is appealing that ruling to the Texas Supreme Court.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, Controller Chris Hollins in his monthly financial report at the beginning of the meeting urged Whitmire and the council to think seriously about finding money in the budget for the drainage fund in case the court rules against the city.
The city already is running a $187 million budget deficit this year worsened by a $1.5 billion back pay settlement and contract agreement with the Houston firefighters’ union approved earlier this month. A five-year forecast presented to council in May showed the deficit would double if spending is not cut or no new revenue sources are found.
Whitmire has said he plans to find more sources of revenue for the city in the coming months, but has not offered any specific proposals.
Amendments to fund drainage projects in Wellington Place and Westwood also were rejected due to a lack of funding.
“I did not put forward amendments because I know that we are under significant budgetary constraints,” District C Councilmember Abbie Kamin said. “When we discuss it, I think all of us have seen projects that continue to move down the line in terms of the year they begin.”
Improvements to the city’s three airports are on the way with $2.8 billion in spending expected over the next five years to expand and maintain the facilities.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport will receive the lion’s share of the aviation funding with $2 billion. The William P. Hobby Airport will see $638 million and Ellington Field and Spaceport will see $127 million over the next five years.
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