Houston Politics

Blogging City Hall and Harris County government with the Chronicle staff

$116 million in bond measures up for grabs


Of the $410 million in bond measures proposed by Mayor Annise Parker on Wednesday morning, there is $116 million set aside for “Funding for Future CIP to be Approved by Council.”

That means Council members can start lobbying for projects in their districts. District F Councilman Al Hoang wasted no time, telling Mayor Annise Parker from the dais that he hopes some of that money can be earmarked for a new Alief library. Councilwoman Wanda Adams made a plug for an amateur sports park.

The Council must put the five proposed bond measures on the ballot by Aug. 20 if voters are to decide on them in November. So in the next few weeks, look for a lot of jockeying to get items added to the measures.

Categories: General
Chris Moran | Reporter

25 Responses

  1. NO NO NO!

    Mayor Park lied about the drainage TAX so how can we trust her now?

  2. Saved says:

    Houston you better wake up. There is no way they can pay for this on top of the debt they already have.

  3. t wall says:

    $116 million in bond measures up for grabs
    of course, have to let our cm’s pander for votes.

  4. creech says:

    So, over one quarter of this proposal is “let’s just get a hundred million dollars from the tax payers and we’ll find something to buy with it later?”

  5. Agent Terry's Friends says:

    Let me see if I understand this correctly. The HCC and mayor Parker want to issue bonds backed by our taxes (expect a tax increase – again!) and want the money for pork barrel projects. Ok, vote em out-all of them. We don’t need you wasting MORE of OUR money on your bullcrud wast ‘OMoney Projects. The rail downtown is a joke and poorly planned and a traffic nightmare-thanks you bunch of spend it alls because it isn’t YOUR money. Times are tough, why kick us in the teeth-try NOT wasting money for ONCE!! PLEEEEEZZZZZE.

  6. scott horowitz says:

    hey, how about some money to fix Richmond Avenue from Hillcroft to Kirby Road? That segment is a MESS!!

  7. agnerd says:

    So if I have this straight, the mayor has decided that we need to spend $116 million, but doesn’t know what the money needs to be spent on. Seems like this process is backwards. Shouldn’t the council memebers start by proposing the projects they want completed? Then you can evaluate the ones that have merit and judge them against the available money. There might not be $116 million worth of worthy projects, but council will evidently find a way to spend the money anyway.

    • kim b. says:

      The Council Members already prepare an official list for the Mayor, at least once a year, of projects they want completed with the funds available. Even then, the Council Members rarely even see this happen. Their requests often fall on numb ears in the Mayor’s office and with the Department heads.

  8. ritzcoog says:

    Any of this tagged for rape kit testing ?

  9. Mike in Houston says:

    What, no trips to Korea on the tax-payers dime? Where is Helena Brown on this one?

  10. Bobby says:

    No to all pet projects. We don’t have the money to waste.

  11. Robert in Wyoming says:

    So do I understand that the City cannot afford to meet the obligation to pay the pensions of its past employees, but it can raise $116 million in new bond money to start new capital improvement projects? Something is rotten at City Hall.

  12. Bayou Crier says:

    Vote AGAINST any bond issue especially one that has $116 million in discretionary funds. This is irresponsible spending at its best.

  13. Matt Simpson says:

    “if you build it they will come…” Part of our regular government ponzi scheme = current politicians run up big debts with their pet projects to benefit their friends, buy votes and get rich – then let future generations pay for it. They want Houston to be another Shanghai, Mexico City, Mumbai, or Sao Paulo – the more crowded the better because that means more tax payers.
    Slum dogs.

  14. gentry says:

    Let’s fix our streets and drainage and then talk about libraries and sports fields.

  15. Russ Shackleford says:

    Here’s a suggestion, instead of financing all new projects that will then add yearly costs to future budgets, float a bond to refinance some of the older debt that is at a much higher rate. Given city finances, the only projects other than that any of them should be considering would be projects that lower costs. New libraries, parks, and other luxuries should not even be considered until all the old debts are under control.

  16. clr55 says:

    No. No. No. Council forgives $140,000 of taxes due from Fertitta and they wan’t us to approve more bonds?? I don’t think so.

  17. Mike G. says:

    Yes, and an earlier version of either this article or another one that has since been removed stated that Mayor Parker said there will be no new taxes because of the proposed bond measure. Um…hmm…who pays the interest on those bonds? The city. Who pays the city? The citizens. They can’t even manage the revenue they have coming in now, so how are they going to be able to service additional debt interest without raising taxes on us? I’m so sick of the lies and funny math that comes from these people. They always want more from us and what they get is never enough.

  18. Bill in Houston says:

    Just say NO to this whole bond issue.

  19. lb says:

    How many fact finding trips (vacations) will this pay for?

  20. BouncingBill says:

    I don’t remember voting on a CIP bond for future unknown work….I think some one is criminal here….oh well, I won’t vote for any of them again.

  21. BF says:

    The US is bankrupt. The day of reckoning is coming and all the elected officials can do is waste more money?

  22. hfdinsider says:

    Use the 116 million to send Brown to council person school.

  23. Yonny says:

    In the AM delivered edition it showed a tax increase of 7 cents for the HISD bond proposal and a 3-4 cent tax increase for the HCC bond proposal. The Metro proposal keeps the tax rate the same it just does not share revenue for road projects. In order to make that proposal palatable you would think they would decrease the tax rate by the shared revenue rate. But there is a method to their madness.

    They will flood the ballots and will look for the straight ticket voters to hit the polls and in their haste to leave the booth the majority will just check in the FOR block. When the big tax increase kicks in those are the same folks who will hit the threads wanting to know when they slipped this through and why didn’t the voters get a chance to vote on it. Speed voting is the enemy of the voter and the hope for the elected. Party affiliation makes no difference. It is the voters responsibility alone to do the research and vote not only their conscience but more and more their wallet. Even the most ardent Tea Party conservative that is running will fall for the perks and largess of office and assume it is merely the cost of doing the peoples business. (I use the Tea Party example here because it is currently assumed a Democrat does this naturally.) Know what is being proposed and what is being said so there is no doubt when it comes time to challenge the result. The same with the office candidates. Hold them to their rhetoric to the end of their terms. Campaign slogans last only as long as the polls are open.