Houston Mayor John Whitmire vows to address waste before considering tax hike
HOUSTON - Mayor John Whitmire insists Houston's legacy is "fixing" its problems and refusing, stubbornly, to let them fester.
It was a message delivered at his first State of the City gathering and was followed by what sounded very much like a pledge to resist the option of raising property taxes.
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"I'm not going to look or raise taxes until I can tell Houstonians I've done everything possible to cut out waste duplication, and quite frankly, corruption. We've got people indicted over an $80 million water drainage contract that didn't even exist. We've got the midtown management district self-dealing. So, when I have done everything I can to cut waste duplication and corruption, I will let the public know. I am not going to do a quick fix of raising property taxes without the the public having a say," said Whitmire.
Raising taxes without a public vote is an option allowed by the Texas Legislature when a community has suffered a natural disaster, like Hurricane Beryl and the storm now called "the Derecho."
One source of municipal funding could well be the transit system, which gets a full cent of the city's sales tax.
The Mayor revealed serious concerns that METRO has squandered untold millions on a bloated bureaucracy, which remained in place despite plummeting ridership.
"You want to talk about waste and 'who-knows-who', go take a peak at how many executive vice presidents they (METRO) had when I took office making $250,000 to $300,000, most of them 'know' somebody. 29. You want to know how many people worked in marketing when I took office? 50, and most of those making $250,000 or $300,000 are working at home. And you want to see conflict of interest and waste? Go spend the day with Metro," said Whitmire, who says Chairperson Elizabeth Brock is initiating reform.
The Mayor also blasted the Houston Housing Authority's controversial 800 Middle St. project as an example of waste and corruption.
"We've got a housing project paid for with public funding sitting on a land fill, and I've got to decide what the hell to do with it. So you want to talk about conflicts of interest and corruption? I'll walk over there with you," said Whitmire of the $130 million complex.