City of Houston on track for its largest ever budget deficit, city official says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- City of Houston leaders are clashing over rising costs and the best way to spend taxpayer dollars.

On Tuesday, Houston City Controller Chris Hollins discussed the rising costs of city services and staff during the latest monthly financial report.

Hollins spoke with ABC13 in-depth about the numbers that stand out in his office.

"As of today, we are projecting over $200 million dollars of deficit spending this year. The mayor's finance department is projecting over $180 million in deficit spending this year, and it's all due to very predictable situations," Chris Hollins said.

Hollins stated that some departments spent even more than anticipated.

"Fire's overages alone this year total over total over $73 million. If just those overages alone were a city department, it would be the fifth-largest department in the city of Houston. Larger than libraries and larger than the Houston Health Department. That's a big number that we need to be paying attention to," Hollins said. "Whether it's the fire contract, whether it's these phantom savings, whether it's tax dollars that never came in and that were never going to come in reality, whether it's under budgeting for overtime spending, these are all things that are tens of millions of dollars each time they come around."

Houston Mayor John Whitmire released the following statement in defense of the Houston Fire Department's spending.

"The Houston Fire Department has spent the past year undergoing a comprehensive review of operations and budgeting, including overtime. My administration's priority is to ensure HFD is properly funded, unlike in the previous administration. We have added 400 cadets and critical apparatus to strengthen the department. We are working closely with key partners, including the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and the Local Host Committee, to prepare for FIFA. I can assure Houstonians and our visitors that we will provide the best fire and emergency medical services in the country. We have also leased 50 ambulances to support this effort. Overtime is necessary to protect both residents and guests. Our firefighters put their lives on the line every day, and this is not the time for the Controller, or anyone else, to politicize the resources required for them to do their jobs safely and effectively."

This debate is happening less than a week before the mayor's office is expected to release the 2027 fiscal year budget on May 5.

Spending on city services and staff is expected to be a major sticking point for city leaders for the 2027 fiscal year budget.