Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city is nearly out of room to cut spending. The warning comes as Turner prepares to submit his budget for Fiscal Year 2019 to Houston City Council next week.
Mayor Turner’s plans to cut spending to all city departments with the exception of the Houston Police Department. This year will mark the third in a row Houston has cut the budget on his watch.
“The previous mayor made department reductions as well,” said Turner. “So if you go back and take a look at what was done under Mayor Parker’s administration and then take a look at what I’ve done, we’re cutting these departments pretty much to the bone.”
Since last July, the city has eliminated virtually every job that has fallen vacant.
Turner notes that his last budget cut $20 million from HPD, and he said he won’t cut police funding any further. During his State of the City address earlier this week, Turner said he wants voters to lift the revenue cap, so that Houston can raise the funds needed to hire more police.