Houston City Council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.

Agenda

1. Mayor’s Report
2. Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc)
3. Council Member Pop-Off

The Mayor’s Report

Mayor Turner invited HPD Chief Finner to make a quarterly crime report. Finner thanked the council for supporting the police department and being “smart and tough on crime.” He commended frontline police officers and asked everyone to keep them in our thoughts.

• Chief Finner shared slides with violent and nonviolent crime categories, comparing year-to-date numbers from 2022 to 2023. Every category is down with the exception of rape (from 974 → 992) and auto theft (14,064 → 16,188). Finner remarked that increased auto thefts are a national trend.
• 85% of all homicides in Houston are the result of gun violence.
• ~3,000 guns have been stolen out of cars so far this year. Chief Finner thanked Council Members for their work on gun safe programs and implored people not to leave guns in their cars unprotected.
• Chief Finner referenced an updated “pursuit policy,” effective September 14, an effort to make police pursuits safer. He acknowledged the police union for their role helping to shape this new policy.
• Finner highlighted three successful operations to illustrate the police department’s recent successes:
  • The disruption of three major gang operations with the help of state and federal agencies
  • Midtown crime reduction
  • The overhaul of the Bissonnet Corridor
• When discussing where criminals go once they have been driven out, Finner said, “We can displace them out [of] our city, because I’m not responsible for what’s outside the city.”

Mayor Turner stressed the importance of highlighting positive trends and praised Chief Finner and the police department. There have been 63 fewer homicides than in 2022, and 94 fewer than in 2021. Commenting on candidates in the upcoming election, Turner said, “When people are talking about what they’re going to do to address crime, what more are you going to do than what we are doing right now? Other than flap your lips.” Lmaoooo. Turner pushed back on mayoral candidates claims they will hire more law enforcement, saying his administration will have added over 2,500 officers by the time his tenure is done.

CM Kamin, chair of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, praised the police department’s improvements: body cameras, domestic abuse response, victims services, cameras and lighting ordinance, catalytic converter ordinance, tackling street racing, outdoor music ordinance, the new pursuit policy, crisis intervention policies, and more, all while dealing with a pandemic. She asked Finner to address criticism on response time.

• Finner said there is always room to improve, but when it comes to priority calls, Houston exceeds or is on par with most other large cities in the US.

CM Evans-Shabazz thanked Finner for the HPD’s shift in pursuit policy. She requested some kind of police-presence/welcoming-committee for people arriving from penal institutions at the Midtown bus terminal, because they can easily become victims themselves or jump back into a life of crime without some guidance. She concluded her remarks by thanking HPD and saying “I can’t imagine a life without police officers.”

CM Gallegos decried political candidates claiming crime is rampant, which is untrue and disheartening to officers.

CM Thomas thanked the Mayor for prioritizing public safety and for the “rigorous conversation” that encouraged the police department to “do different things,” especially regarding transparency. She praised the cleanup of the Bissonnet Corridor and asked for guidance on what to do about homeless encampments. Chief Finner encouraged her to reach out to DRT units. As far as I can tell, DRT stands for Differential Response Team. I couldn’t find anything about it specifically tackling homelessness, but perhaps that information is out of date. Finner said it’s not “against the law to be homeless, but … we all still have to be good neighbors, including the homeless. And when they’re impacting in a negative way, as a community, we got to step in and help them to help themselves.” One other resource (not mentioned at council) is https://www.houstoncit.org/hot/.

CM Kubosh told a story about traveling to Chicago recently, where he was impressed with a recorded PSA from the Mayor that played at the airport, welcoming travelers and promising them a safe visit. Kubosh said it was very reassuring and wants Mayor Turner and Chief Finner to do the same.

CM Castex-Tatum thanked Chief Finner for his willingness to work with Council Members and neighborhood-specific issues from constituents. She also praised the District K monthly PIP meetings.

CM Plummer thanked HPD in general and especially for programs like MCOTs and CIRTs that aim to de-escalate issues that can be resolved with mental health clinicians. Chief Finner agreed on their efficacy. Finner also advocated for state and federal aid and, even though he claims to stay out of politics, he briefly mentioned the state surplus that could be put to such uses.

Finally, Mayor Turner thanked Chief Finner for the diversity of his command staff and praised him for helping to reverse the crime wave. Turner said Finner has done a “Herculean” job, thanked him for being “down to earth and shooting it straight,” and leaving the politics to the politicians. Everyone gave Chief Finner a standing ovation.

After the crime report, Mayor Turner quickly wrapped up the rest of his Mayor’s Report.

• The Biden Administration named Houston one of seven cities to become a hydrogen hub, and will receive $1.2B in energy transition funding.
• UH is playing UT on Saturday, Turner encouraged lots of people to show up to the game so visiting Longhorns won’t have anywhere to sit.
• Mayor Turner hopes the Astros win their games.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 2 confirmed the reappointment, and one new appointment, of 11 people to the Planning Commission. The Mayor and several CMs remarked on the hard, often grueling work the Planning Commission undertakes and how important this work is especially in Houston, which has limited zoning.
• Item 5 approved the final contract amount of $4.5M for Harvey-related restoration work to the Kendall Library in District G.
• Item 6 approved $5M to purchase 16 ambulances for the fire department.
• Item 13 approved updates to the code that regulates chauffeured limousines. Just FYI for all the limo drivers in the house!!
• Item 15 approved $82K in ARPA funding and $376K in Department of Labor – Community Project Funding to Houston Community College for the EmPowering Solar Jobs Program, a workforce development program to get people without college degrees into solar installation. CM Evans-Shabazz praised this initiative as “a prudent and wonderful use of funds.”
• Item 20 approved the application to a grant that could result in $2M of federal funding for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which CM Kamin highlighted as especially appealing because it does not require matching funds from the city. Free money!
• Item 21 approved the transfer of the former Velasco Incinerator Site, operational from the 1930s – 1950s, to the Houston Land Bank. The Land Bank is searching for grants to remediate environmental concerns. Once taken care of, the Land Bank will then sell the property to a partner that will develop the land to have “tangible benefits for the community,” likely along Buffalo Bayou East Park.
• Item 25 would have approved a $25M, 7 year contract for a records management system for HPD, but it was tagged by CMs Castex-Tatum and Robinson.
• Item 26 approved a $1.4M, five year contract for foreign language interpretation services for the Houston Emergency Center. Translation services will be available 24/7/365 for 911 call takers in Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin and/or Cantonese, Korean, Arabic, German, French.
• Item 27 approved a $3.1M increase in various contracts with organizations that provide aging and caregiver support and services for Harris County Area Agency on Aging for the Houston Health Department.
• Item 42 was tagged last week by CM Alcorn on behalf of CM Plummer. Plummer has been advocating for more investment in Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) in the process the City uses for purchases made through a co-op. Plummer said the procurement department has committed to a $1M carve out for MWBEs used in the co-op process and that she has confidence this is only the first step. Plummer encouraged MWBEs to bid on co-op funded projects to show there is interest. This week, this item passed.

Council Member Pop-Off

• CM Castex-Tatum (District K) shared information on upcoming construction projects, a Seeds of Gratitude fundraising event, a live music event at the Willow Water hole on 10/28, the Pose in Pink yoga event, and the District K newsletter.
• CM Kubosh (At-Large 3) went on again about the Mayor and Chief Finner recording a welcome PSA for the airports. He really thinks it’s a winning idea!
• CM Thomas (District F) asked for help re-striping the roads at school intersections.
• CM Peck (District A) plugged a public safety town hall on 10/28.
• CM Kamin (District C) remarked on “the horrors unfolding in the Middle East.” She said, “There is not a single person [in the Houston Jewish community] that has not escaped the pain or the impact of what is happening.” She reminded everyone that it’s okay to not be okay and shared counseling resources. Kamin implored people not to get sucked into social media and misinformation and thanked HPD for their protection of both the Jewish and Muslim communities.
• Mayor Turner shared condolences on the passing of both CM Cisneros and Pollard’s mothers. He preached compassion and understanding regarding Gaza, saying Houston can represent how to go through challenging times. He said that Houston stands as one and has the ability to represent for the nation how to move forward through this conflict. Turner said, “We are our brother’s keeper,” and that we are one big family.

Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?

My name is Emily Hynds and I am a writer, producer of the monthly storytelling series Grown-up Storytime, and lifelong Houstonian. I am not a journalist or government official. I am a local government enthusiast who believes meaningful change starts at home. These notes are presented from my point of view and with my framing, and are not comprehensive. Your notes will certainly be different, and I would love to read them if you attend.

While compiling these notes I used the following sources:
https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/
https://houwatch.com
https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2023/10/16/houston-selected-hydrogen-hubs
https://www.houstoncit.org/hot/

You can find your City Council Member and their contact info at: http://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html

Thank you to ACLU TX for supporting these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.