Houston City Council Notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds
Agenda
- Mayor’s Report
- Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)
- Council Member Pop-Off
Mayor’s Report
Mayor Whitmire expressed condolences on the passing of Reverend Bill Lawson.
A group of students from the High School for Law and Justice’s Teen Court were present in the chamber. The Mayor and several CMs praised the students, their teachers, and the program.
Six weeks ago, the Mayor assembled an independent panel to investigate HPD’s “Suspended for Lack of Personnel code,” colloquially known as the “SL code.” HPD used this code to mark some cases as inactive due to lack of personnel. It’s a whole thing, you should look it up. HPD Chief Finner resigned last week over it.
- Panel Chair Ellen Cohen introduced the preliminary report. The final version will include a history of the SL code, a progress report, and recommendations. She said that HPD has been transparent and forthcoming.
- Panel member Christina Nowak, Deputy Inspector General of the Office of Policing Reform and Accountability, emphasized the preliminary-ness of this report. The investigation is prioritizing victim-centered crimes in the Special Victims Division (SVD), beginning with sexual assault.
- The panel plans to sample 10% of the more than 268K incident reports.
- They met with HPD to go over the processes for complaints, incident reports, and investigations. HPD sends them weekly reports, at minimum.
- HPD’s lack of technical resources causes problems.
- The panel observed “inconsistent methods of case management between the divisions, with very little checks and balances.” HPD’s record management system (RMS) has too many variations for how the same crime can be coded: “sexual assault could also be referred to as sex assault, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated sex assault, ag sex assault, and so on.” The panel believes this confusing code system “directly contributed to the mis-titling, which is all done manually, and potential mishandling of various incident reports.”
- Preliminary recommendations for HPD as a whole:
- written directives for policy changes that affect the entire department
- attendance protocols for executive and command staff meetings
- meeting minutes should be recorded for all decision points for these meetings
- general standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the RMS and case management
- comprehensive documentation of procedures and protocols governing the use of the RMS and case handling
- reasonable and workable timelines for case assignment
- supervisory review/approval before an investigation is suspended or made inactive
- simplify RMS offense titles, ensuring they are consistent with the Texas penal code
- Preliminary recommendations for HPD’s Special Victims Division (SVD):
- create a process to review email inboxes where incident reports are routed
- collaborate with the Houston Forensic Science center to develop SOPs for lab results and testing
- upload lab results to the RMS in a timely manner
- 24-hour availability of an SVD investigator
- improve coordination with victim services outside of HPD
- updated victim notification protocols
- mandatory 55-hour training administered by the Houston Area Women’s Center
- victim and trauma centered training at the patrol level in the academy, plus a yearly refresher for all officers
- collaboration with victim service organizations and human trafficking agencies to locate and help victims/survivors
- give victims/survivors more control over the scheduling of forensic interviews
- CM Castex-Tatum said that “everyone that makes a report to HPD definitely deserves a response, and there will be some requirement to rebuild the trust,” starting with accountability for the systems and people that allowed this to happen in the first place.
- Mayor Whitmire said that every recommendation made by the panel will require more money for HPD. He said it is “mind boggling” that no one in all of HPD at any level brought up the use of this code until 2021.
- CM Kamin said HPD is getting a new RMS installed in 2025 which should help with some of the technical problems. She asked some clarifying questions regarding the timeline, concerned about “who knew what and who also didn’t know what.” She appreciates the panel’s focus on crimes with victims/survivors and asked if the City is allocating additional support for organizations taking on these new cases, like HAWC. Whitmire offered a bumbling response that made me think he didn’t understand the question.
- CM Peck suggested the panel’s report go to the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting for review.
- CM Pollard asked if the entire department knew about the SL code. Nowak said no and that some executive command staff might not even have known about it. Pollard asked why it came to light when it did. Nowak referenced “a crime that occurred in the fall of last year.” Pollard announced he had “no further questions,” which got some laughs because we are not in a courtroom right now, but sure, go off, sir.
- CM Plummer defended Chief Finner, who recently resigned. She said he was only promoted as Chief in 2021 and shouldn’t be blamed for the SL code problems. Plummer asked Nowak what the deal is with the Internal Affairs Division investigation. Nowak explained that it is confidential and they will likely produce their own report. Plummer warned of budgetary implications from the panel’s recommendations and advocated for standardized specimen collection.
- CM Thomas admitted she was skeptical of the panel at first, but said this report is good, informed, and fair. She championed former Chief Finner, saying he would be eager to adopt these changes.
- CM Carter lamented funding cuts to domestic violence programs and advocated for partnerships with the County, State, and Federal governments.
- CM Pollard did, indeed, have further questions. He asked if HPD Chiefs know each other’s standard operations. Nowak said yes and no. Pollard used this argument to defend former Chief Finner, saying it was totally plausible for him to not be aware of the SL code in use in a different department than the one he came up in. Cohen reminded Council that the panel’s job is to review the reviewers, she declined to comment on Chief Finner’s knowledge or lack thereof regarding the SL code.
Agenda Items, Selected Works
- Item 9 approved $41K for school zone poles.
- Item 13 approved $163K for a company called Cowboy Concealments (lol) to provide “concealment boxes used to hide surveillance cameras, electronics and communication equipment” for HPD.
- Item 14 approved $89K for gym equipment at HPD’s Westside Command Station and North Command Station.
- Item 17 approved $149K for CrimeTracer software for HPD, a national crime database.
- Item 18 approved $76K for three all terrain vehicles for HPD.
- Item 18 set a budget public hearing date for Wednesday, May 29 at 9am.
- CMs Plummer and Ramirez tagged Item 20, which would have confirmed the City’s support of a tax abatement (aka incentive) for Kittle Properties to develop Cordova Apartments, an affordable multifamily complex in Gulfgate. CM Plummer criticized Kittle and cited complaints both locally and nationally.
- CMs Ramirez and Kamin tagged Item 21, which would have amended the code regulating tax abatements for green stormwater infrastructure. There was general discussion on the value of these tax abatements and agreement that the City’s program could be better, evidenced by lack of engagement.
- Item 23 authorized the acceptance of a $1.3M grant from the State for dental services for pregnant mothers, children, and adolescents.
- Item 30 approved $97K to extend the contract with the company that conducts language testing for emergency services, including HFD, HPD, and the 911 call center. Not only does the City offer services in languages other than English, but employees get paid more if they’re bilingual, so this company tests, and retests, for proficiency. CMs Peck and Pollard supported in theory but complained about the expense. CMs Castex-Tatum, Carter, Thomas, Ramirez, and Mayor Whitmire defended the item and language services in general.
- Item 32 approved an additional $977K for a mental health crisis call diversion program for HPD. The program diverts “non-imminent mental health-related calls that do not have a medical necessity. These calls are diverted to Crisis Call Diversion phone counselors at The Harris Center.”
- CM Plummer enthusiastically supported this item and advocated for more money for mobile crisis outreach teams and crisis intervention response teams, paid for in the past with ARPA funds and apparently potentially on the chopping block during this budget season.
- CMs Kamin and Ramirez both remarked on the importance of these programs that save lives and money.
- Mayor Whitmire advocated for collabs with the County for funding.
- Item 40 was tagged by CMs Castillo, Kamin, Plummer, and Carter. It would have approved the sale of a portion of the White Oak Greenway Trail to TxDOT for the North Houston Highway Improvement Plan. CMs cited much constituent concern. CM Plummer said the area should officially be designated a park, which it basically is, which could give it protection. CM Kamin expressed confidence that TxDOT will honor constituent wishes to keep greenspace, but wants it in writing.
Council Member Pop-Off
Many CMs shared condolences for Reverend Lawson and lamented the HISD situation.
- CM Castex-Tatum complained about loitering and crime at gas stations.
- CM Pollard also complained about loitering and crime at gas stations. He mentioned an agenda item he put forth (coming soon?) that will support HISD staff. Pollard responded to Mayor Whitmire’s statement that he “inherited a myth” when it comes to the budget. Pollard pointed out the large fund balance left over from the previous administration which can be used as a stop-gap. He complained that Council will be expected to vote on a budget that includes the firefighter deal, the details of which they still have not seen.
- CM Alcorn shared news about the budget workshops, which started today.
- CM Carter mentioned an HPD memorial service last Friday at their union hall. She said, “I’m going to give a shout out to the Pappas family for bringing the food, serving all the families, donating the food. While they’re not at our airports, they’re certainly at our union hall supporting our HPD.”
- CM Davis rambled about an in-person meeting he had with HISD Superintendent Mike Miles, without talking about what happened at the meeting or offering any solutions.
- CM Kamin criticized the Mayor’s decision to halt the construction on Shepherd and Durham. She cited feedback from constituents and businesses who support the project. The Mayor was condescending in his response, at one point saying, “You’ve represented that area four years. I’ve represented it 50 years.”
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.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/whitmire-hpd-dropped-cases-panel-findings-failures-19459338.php
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.
