Mayor Annise Parker last week unveiled her proposed FY 2015 budget for the city of Houston. It includes covering a significant rise in pension obligations, calls for funding to add animal control officers and address pothole repairs â all of which the mayor believes can be accomplished in the next year without a tax increase, or dipping into the cityâs Rainy Day Fund.
But the Mayor did offer a warning about the FY 2016 budget â she says the city is projected to exceed a revenue cap on the cityâs general fund, which will force a rollback of city tax rates to reduce revenue coming in. It could result in a budget shortfall.
On this edition of Houston Matters, we discuss the FY 2015 budget with Houston Public Mediaâs Laurie Johnson, and then learn more about the revenue cap from former Mayor Bill White, who was in office when the charter amendment that created the cap was passed. He explains its purpose, and how it might impact budgeting in FY 2016.
