A number of smart and caring Houstonians have watched in dismay as the City of Houston’s finances have deteriorated over the past twelve years. Only recently, however, have the City’s elected leaders and a few
As the reality of the City’s budget has become apparent in recent weeks, Mayor Annise Parker and even some prospective 2015 mayoral candidates have begun to call for more revenues. This has led others to
There is dispute raging at City Hall – has the City of Houston balanced its budget or not? According to Mayor Annise Parker, the City has balanced its budget, every year, in compliance with the
Houston is a wonderful place to live and work. Some of us were born here; many of us moved here, attracted by opportunity and the welcoming culture. We chose to stay because of our success
TURNER PENSION PLAN INCLUDES LARGEST BOND ISSUE IN HOUSTON HISTORY: BUT YOU DON’T GET TO VOTE ON IT! by Bill King Included in the “outline” of the City of Houston’s new pension plan is a
THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF HARRIS COUNTY VS CITY OF HOUSTON by Bill King The divergence of the financial performance of the City of Houston and Harris County since 2003 is stark and telling. Since that
THE PENSION AMORTIZATION SCAM by Bill King Fair warning: This post is going to get way off in the weeds of the complex math that defined benefit pension plans entail. So if you are a
TURNER’S PENSION PLAN: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE INCREDIBLE by Bill King Sylvester Turner announced his pension “plan” Wednesday. I put the word plan in quotes because the outline Turner delivered was so painfully
KUDOS TO BROWN AND GREEN by Bill King At the first meeting of our new City Council on Wednesday, Controller Chris Brown and CFO Kelly Dowe made their regular financial reports. Their reports were grim.
AUDIT SHOWS CITY IS NEARING INSOLVENCY by Bill King On New Year’s Eve the City released its annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. Because of new accounting rules that require the