Houston Mayor John Whitmire expects city to spend $7 billion in budget proposal

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Seven billion dollars. That's how much city of Houston Mayor John Whitmire expects to spend in his next budget. He unveiled the proposal Tuesday, and said it is "grounded in fiscal responsibility, service delivery reform, and a commitment to restoring trust in local government."

Abandoned or dangerous animals might not be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about a city's budget.

But in light of recent violent attacks-about which we've reported several times this spring---animal control was among the concerns that Mayor Whitmire raised while talking about the city's finances.

"BARC provides a great service," Whitmire said. "We all love our animals. Animal welfare is a priority for most of us."

BARC is the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. It not only handles animal law enforcement but also shelters unwanted pets.

According to the mayor's office, BARC is representative of other city services in being short-staffed and underfunded, and Whitmire is not yet sure how to deal with it...be it extra fees, taxes, or other creative funding measures.

"I'm going to talk to Houstonians, and we're going to give them options," Whitmire said. "We're all in this together. Certainly, everything is on the table."

On its face, the budget is $200 million more than it was a year ago. And yet the mayor says he is tightening the purse strings after a buyout of eligible city workers cut $99 million from city spending.

"We're meeting our challenges in every department," Whitmire said. "Yes, we're reorganizing city government."

The mayor's office acknowledges that BARC is doing the best it can with the resources it has. As are police and fire, which combined make up a growing lion's share of the city's budget.

ABC13 found in March, BARC's data reveals its team responded to 98.83% of all priority one calls. Those are the ones involving dangerous animals. But its overall response rate, which includes lower priorities, was at 58.3%.

Add pension obligations, overtime costs, trash pickup, along with aging infrastructure above and below ground, all taking bites out of the city's bank accounts, and $7 billion just doesn't go as far as it used to.

On Wednesday, Controller Chris Hollins, the city's financial watchdog, will be holding a town hall at which he'll talk about the budget process and offer some insight into the numbers.

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