Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on November 5, 2025

Agenda

1. Monthly Financial Report
2. Three Public Hearings*
3. Mayor’s Report
4. Public Comment
5. Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)
6. Council Member Pop-Off*

*I will not cover the public hearings or pop-off today.

The Monthly Financial Report

Controller Chris Hollins and Finance Director Melissa Dubowski both gave their respective reports.

Controller Hollins predicts an ending fund balance of $303.4M, which is $70.1M lower than the finance department’s. The ending fund balance is like the city’s savings account.

An audit by the controller’s office revealed that city employees aren’t following protocol for refueling city-owned vehicles, fuel cards are assigned to nonexistent vehicles, and supervisor review is insufficient. “These aren’t just paperwork approval lapses. They’re warning signs that oversight has broken down.”

Remarking on the federal government shutdown, Hollins said the city should not rely on federal aid and needs to prepare for similar scenarios in the future. He criticized the state for freezing the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program.

As Mayor Whitmire introduced Director Dubowski, he invited her to give a “true financial report.”

Director Dubowski predicts an ending fund balance of $373.5M. The finance department has not incorporated property tax rate changes yet, which explains the large variance from the controller’s report.

• CM Pollard asked Dubowski what revenue the city plans to use to replace the additional $53M needed because the tax rate was not raised. Director Dubowski said they plan to draw from the fund balance. He asked her how the tax rate will affect the deficit. Dubowski said the deficit will increase from $75M → $125M. Controller Hollins agreed, predicting a deficit of $125M-$130M.
• Hollins also mentioned $17M in promised savings from the Ernst & Young efficiency report that won’t actually be realized for another 18 months; more money the city will now need to make up.

The Mayor’s Report

Mayor Whitmire remarked on the federal shutdown causing “unbearable conditions” at Houston airports. He said the Houston Food Bank is doing an “outstanding job” stepping up while SNAP benefits are in limbo. (SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” aka food stamps.) He praised Hope City Church for their food outreach programs. He shared condolences for the late Reverend Nash.

Public Comment 

Normally, the public comment portion of city council takes place on Tuesdays. Because Tuesday was Election Day, the two meetings were combined. Today, for unclear reasons, council elected to interrupt public comment with votes on certain items, and the meeting was very disjointed as a result. I will not cover public comment in these notes aside from three speakers’ comments related to the discussion items.

Item 17: Extending the East End Civility Ordinance to 24/7 

Under the standard civility ordinance, it is illegal to sit, lie down, or store belongings in public spaces, like parks and sidewalks, between the hours of 11pm and 7am. The standard civility ordinance is only enforceable in 12 zones and must be instigated by residents and approved by council. The city has begun extending the civility ordinance to 24/7 in certain areas, starting with downtown and east downtown. Today’s Item 17 would have extended the boundary of the East End’s civility ordinance to include the new homeless resource center at 419 Emancipation and increased the hours to 24/7, but it was tagged by CM Thomas. The support doc described this as “part of a holistic approach towards addressing street homelessness.”

During public comment, Veronica Chapa Gorczynski, the president of the East End Management District, advocated for this expansion to protect nearby schools, honor requests from neighborhood representatives, and assuage people who are concerned about crime and the inconvenience of having homeless people in their neighborhood.

• Mayor Whitmire and CMs Martinez, Castillo, and Ramirez made supportive remarks.
• CM Plummer asked what funding the East End Management District plans to contribute to 419 Emancipation. The speaker said that state law restricts what they can fund, but they do already spend money on extra constable patrols for the area.
• CM Kamin criticized the expansion of civility ordinances without proper oversight.

As the discussion continued, CM Plummer asked for an estimate on how many unhoused people are currently living in the area, as it will soon be illegal for them to be in public spaces. When they voted to extend civility ordinances to 24/7 in the past, it was because there were beds available to house the number of people who faced potential displacement. Mayor Whitmire offered no clear answer. Plummer asked if the city will continue to give citations to unhoused people. The mayor said, “No, we’re not giving citations … That is not a priority,” and, “I’m not aware of citations … That is not the practice of HPD.”

CM Kamin referenced an article from Houston Public Media that claims there have been 500 more citations since the expansion of the last civility ordinance, a concern because many homeless people are unable to get to court and these citations can turn into warrants.

• Mayor Whitmire said this is “major misinformation.”
• Kamin reported an uptick in unhoused people in District C since the 24/7 ordinances went into effect in downtown and east downtown. She asked if the security contracted by the East Downtown Management District has the ability to issue citations and if they are trained to the same level as HPD.
  • Mayor Whitmire did not directly answer her question.
• CM Kamin reiterated concerns the city is not using the established process for the civility ordinance, thereby broadening the scope without proper oversight. Mayor Whitmire interrupted her to defend the ordinance change, arguing they are responding to the community’s concerns.
• Finally, Kamin asked 1) for the number of citations issued since the last civility ordinance was expanded, how many have entered diversion programs, and how many now have an outstanding warrant; 2) if security personnel hired by entities like management districts have the authority to issue citations, especially considering they might not have proper training.

CM Castillo defended the ordinance extension which will reassure the nearby community. He said that 419 Emancipation will have hundreds of low-barrier beds available and that extending the civility ordinance “helps get folks into 419 Emancipation because being on the sidewalk all day won’t be allowed.”

Mayor Whitmire said he thinks the whole city should be under a civility ordinance, not just certain zones.

CM Thomas tagged Item 17. It is on hold for at least one more week.

Item 53: Apartment Inspection Reform

Item 53 would have established an apartment inspection ordinance intended to holistically regulate apartment complexes, but it was ultimately voted down and referred back to the administration. The ordinance aims to organize how apartments are inspected, codes enforcement, and help city departments communicate with each other.

CM Plummer, the architect of apartment inspection reform, has been working on this for years and brought it forth using Proposition A, which allows a coalition of three council members to put items on the agenda without the mayor’s approval. Her cosigners were CMs Pollard, Martinez, and Evans-Shabazz. That’s right, she had one more than necessary.

One public speaker, a representative from the Houston Apartment Association (HAA), remarked on this item. She claimed to support the concept but not the current form and advocated for referring the item back to the administration. She said the administration worked on the ordinance over the summer “in good faith” and implied CM Plummer was not involved or interested at that time. She questioned Plummer’s current urgency and the ordinance’s enforceability.

• CM Plummer said this ordinance has been in the works for years. She advocated on behalf of people living in awful conditions who need immediate help. Plummer questioned HAA’s motives for derailing the ordinance. (I don’t have the space to go into the whole debate, but it was energetic.)

Plummer emphasized the plight of people living in bad conditions. She said no legislation is perfect, but can be amended. “Get something on the record. And then we work. We trust the administration and we trust our council to work through the process.” She said it’s easy for council members and stakeholders to delay because they aren’t living in “areas where there’s mold and there’s rats and there’s no running water and there’s crime.” The ordinance got through committee unanimously and 29 community groups signed on in support.

Mayor Whitmire advocated against the ordinance because it will be difficult to enforce. “Urgency is important, but doing it right is even more important.”

CMs Alcorn and Pollard advocated for CM Plummer. Regarding enforcement, Pollard said council passes things all the time that are difficult to enforce. He said Plummer deserves a vote and defended the Prop A process.

CM Kamin pressed the mayor for a time commitment if the item was sent back, which he would not agree to. The mayor said if the city enforces this, “the slum lords and others are not going to cooperate,” causing them to shut down and lead to an even larger homeless population.

Kamin pressed the legal department for details on their issues with the ordinance. City Attorney Arturo Michel complained the ordinance has no appeal process, vague criteria, and said enforcement will be difficult. CM Plummer pressed Attorney Michel on whether the ordinance is legal as written, and if it is possible to amend it once approved. Reluctantly, Attorney Michel agreed on both.

As the conversation dragged on, CM Plummer became defensive and called for a vote, which required a vote in itself. Yes, they had to vote on whether they could vote. People who voted yes (to bring the item forth for a vote): Evans-Shabazz, Castillo, Martinez, Pollard, Ramirez, Plummer, Alcorn. People who voted no: Whitmire, Peck, Jackson, Kamin, Flickinger, Thomas, Huffman, Castex-Tatum, Davis. The vote on whether to vote on Item 53 failed.

CM Castex-Tatum referred the item back to the administration with the stipulation it will come back to council by December 10.

Wildly, this all happened in the middle of public comment. The next speaker said, “I grew up in the kind of apartments that y’all are talking about … the rats, the leaks, the roaches, all of that.” She criticized council for their excuses, lack of solutions, and disregard for the people. She said council actions like this are why people are apathetic, voter turnout is low, and people don’t call 311 to report problems. “Why would we call 311? They don’t do anything.”

• CM Pollard agreed. He asked why these concerns were not addressed prior to today. He criticized the city’s double standard and said, “I’m very disappointed at the way that we cherry-pick what we are going to have all this passion and emotion over.”

CM Plummer, in tears, recounted the many calls from distressed people living in deplorable conditions. She chastised the council for capitulating to the demands of “stakeholders” like the Houston Apartment Association. “I’m so disappointed and embarrassed to sit on this council today.”

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 8 approved $881K to renew the city’s public records request software.
• Item 9 approved $1.6M for 98 vehicles for HPD, 49 of which are hybrid.
• Items 12 and 13 appointed people as municipal court judges for two and four year terms.
• Item 18 approved a $250K grant to Healthcare for the Homeless for the operation of their Project Access transportation service.
• Item 19 approved a $250K grant to The Women’s Home for support services for unhoused and low-income people.
• Item 49 authorized a $6M contract with a company to perform drainage ditch maintenance across the city over 730 calendar days (about two years).
• Item 50 approved $2.2M to cover election costs, such as polling locations, ballots, election personnel, and administrative costs.
• Item 51 approved $400K for the Houston Public Library’s adult literacy program. I have a correction to make: in my notes for October 29, 2025, I listed this as approved that day. That is incorrect; CM Castex-Tatum tagged it at that meeting and it was approved today.

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

My name is Emily Hynds. I am a writer, small business owner, 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.

I watched this City Council meeting via HTV: https://www.houstontx.gov/htv/

While compiling these notes I used the following sources:
https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic
https://houwatch.com
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/city-of-houston/2025/10/01/532418/exclusive-houston-ramps-up-citations-of-homeless-after-july-civility-ordinance-expansion/

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

Thank you to the volunteers who proofread these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.