What's ahead at Houston City Council this week? $963K City Hall tunnel fix and fee increases

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a busy time for the City of Houston, as this week alone, officials made big decisions on everything from cutting ties with Confederate-related statues, to cleaning up contaminated parts of the city.

So, what are they doing in the coming week?

The answer is everything, from potentially making changes to what limo drivers in the city can wear on the job, to approving the spending of quite a bit of money to fix issues with a tunnel connecting Houston City Hall to the City Hall Annex.

The two buildings are directly across the street, and the city said the tunnel between them is unsafe due to "hydrostatic pressure that is causing groundwater to create cracks through the slab of the tunnel floor."

Houston City Council will be voting on Wednesday to approve the spending of up to $963,893.70 to evaluate, repair, and reinforce the tunnel.

City council members are also voting on an issue that will impact far more Houstonians than anything related to repairs on city property.

The City of Houston has an ordinance that ties increases in city fees to the rate of inflation.

The city already estimated that from Jan 1, 2023, through Jan. 1, 2024, the combined price of everything you bought in those 12 months will have gone up 4.37%.

As the ordinance is written, this should mean the fee for things, such as parking meters or using a city-owned facility, should go up 4.37% starting this coming Jan. 1.

The city's finance director has recommended capping the increase of certain fees to 2.66%, which will also be voted on this Wednesday.

In terms of precedent, this has a good chance of passing, as the city council voted to do this for the current calendar year.

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