Houston mayor pushes back against critics of financial condition of the city

HOUSTON - Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner pushing back against reports he will leave the City of Houston in a precarious financial condition.

"Let me just say, the sky is not falling," said Turner ay Wednesday's City Council meeting.

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The criticism has come from both outgoing City Controller Chris Brown and the Greater Houston Partnership, which the end of federal pandemic relief funding and billions of dollars in unaddressed liabilities will pose major challenges for Turner's successor.

Turner defended his performance citing substantial savings from his pension reform initiative and the avoidance of any city lay-offs during his eight years in office.

"I have not been perfect. But when it comes to the financial management of this city, we have done extremely well," said Turner.

Turner conceded the City's financial well-being has been hampered during his tenure by seven federally declared disasters and the inability to increase revenue due to a voter-imposed cap on municipal property taxes.

Turner did not address the $6 billion in city liabilities identified in the GHP financial analysis, including deferred road maintenance, water infrastructure deficiencies, and back-pay owed to Houston firefighters.