23 February 2006
Chronicle: surveillance cameras are no biggie
Is this going to be the official Chronicle position on surveillance cameras: that there are already lots of cameras around Houston, so what's a few more?
Police Chief Harold Hurtt sparked debate with his recent proposal to install surveillance cameras downtown, at apartment complexes and even at some private homes to combat crime. But cameras already are rolling all over the city: at rail stations, schools, malls, highways, banks and convenience stores.
"In a big city, it's increasingly hard to go throughout the day without being captured on many surveillance cameras," Daniel Solove, a law professor at George Washington University who specializes in privacy issues, wrote via e-mail.
Indeed, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has a video camera on top of the Binz Building downtown to monitor Main Street — the same strip where the Houston Police Department hopes to install surveillance cameras.
Shoppers at the Galleria are monitored by camera both inside and outside the mall. Drivers on freeways managed by the Texas Department of Transportation are caught on tape. Commuters at Metro's rail and transfer stations and inside trains, and also soon at Park & Ride lots, are watched on screen from miles away. And if you're cheering at Toyota Center, you can bet you'll be watched on video.
Schools, too, use camera technology to monitor students. A man who police say sexually assaulted a student in a Westbury High School restroom Feb. 9 was caught on one of the school's 128 cameras as he entered the school, though authorities have not arrested a suspect. And officials at Westfield High School used images from a surveillance tape to identify students in a fight.
[snip]
Though some cameras, such as those on Houston's freeways, aren't intended for law enforcement purposes, police across the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, use surveillance technology to keep an eye on the public.
"They've been very effective for our needs," said Metro police Capt. Tim Kelly. "We get that big picture of what's happening on the sidewalks and the streets adjacent to the light rail system."
And a nice view of Danger Train crashes.
The City Council's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security is scheduled to consider Hurtt's proposal Tuesday.
We are still awaiting that outraged editorial.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/23/06 08:05 AM |
22 February 2006
Mayor White explains why Houston needs surveillance cameras
Sort of.
Here is another of those Dallas vs. Houston stories and a quote from Mayor White that apparently explains why Houston needs surveillance cameras:
Dallas leaders concede that Houston is ahead in its downtown revitalization. Houston's Main Street has had a facelift which brought eclectic restaurants. But both cities are struggling with how you get residents to spend time and money in downtown consistently.
“The more people that come downtown the safer it is. Because people in a crowd look after each other. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You see it in other cities in the country, citizens looking after each other,” said Bill White, Houston mayor.
So, if more people would head downtown and play Dodge the Danger Train, then Houston wouldn't need surveillance cameras?
(Oh, and some Dallas dude says Houston has peaked and Dallas hasn't. Therefore, he concludes, Dallas is more fun than Houston.)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/22/06 03:21 PM |
17 February 2006
Alvarado to Chron editorial board: "that's not my handwriting"
Matt Stiles has more on (what Houblog has coined) Bonusgate and it includes an appearance by City Controller Annise Parker:
A series of memos awarding disputed monthly performance bonus payments to four city employees contain scrawled initials purporting to be those of Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado, who said today that someone forged her signature.
"I can tell you right now that's not my handwriting," said Alvarado, who sighed and appeared shaken when shown one memo Thursday during a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.
"These are clearly not my initials."
Moments later she signed the cursive letters "CA" on a personal letterhead pad, and they appeared different than those on the memo, obtained through the Texas Public Information Act .
[snip]
The memo was released by City Controller Annise Parker, who also provided Thursday the first account of how the bonuses were approved since Mayor Bill White announced the investigation Wednesday. Dated Jan. 10, and labeled from Alvarado to a payroll employee, it is like numerous others being examined by investigators.
Parker said the memos, which ask payroll to provide the four employees "one-time performance incentive pay" as "a bonus for work well done," appear legitimate.
"Everything was documented as though it was completely legitimate and supported," she said. "There was a complete trail. There was no effort at all to hide this. It just came through normal procedures."
UPDATE: Chris Baker is interviewing former Councilman Mark Goldberg. Among other things Goldberg said that the Mayor Pro Tem's office manager making a base salary of $75,000 is eye-popping. He said that is deputy director pay. And then to add an almost $50,000 bonus on top of it, he said, sounds criminal.
He said he used to review his budget every one or two months and numbers like that would have jumped out at him.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: KPRC-2 reports the following:
Mayor Bill White said he was preparing an executive order that would put tighter controls over the entire payroll of City Council offices.
Four employees in the office of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado were removed from their jobs Wednesday in the payroll investigation.
Meanwhile, KPRC reported that one of the four suspended workers tried to change the current checks and balances by herself and the mayor pro tem almost helped her do it. Alvarado tried to change the system in order to give one of the accused employees, Rosie Hernandez, more power over payroll. Hernandez ran the office.
"It sounded like, OK, it will simplify the process," Alvarado said.
But other council members shut down the idea and kept payroll oversight with the city's finance and administration department.
That department was the one that was supposed to catch the $130,000 worth of bonuses now under question.
The mayor said workers in the finance and administration department may have jobs on the line.
That's all well and good, but more immediately, we have nearly reached the point politically that Carol Alvarado needs to resign as Mayor Pro Tem, or Mayor White will have to consider replacing her.
BLOGVERSATION: Rhymes with Right.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/17/06 06:15 PM |
City employees chat away on taxpayer-funded cell phones
Well, slap me down:
In this day and age when you're paying more and more to run your car and heat and cool your home, we've discovered some city of Houston workers are talking their way right through your money.
11 News uncovered thousands of minutes of personal calls and virtually no safeguards in place to limit them to city business.
[snip]
But chances are you won't come close to the deal Tony Emanuel has.
His job gives him a free phone and he can talk as long as he wants whenever he wants.
The best part is that he doesn't pay a dime.
The taxpayers pay for his conversations.
Emanuel is an inspector for Houston Police Department's Neighborhood Protection.
"His supervisors have told me they're conducting an inquiry," said Lt. Robert Manzo, HPD.
11 News discovered the city is not collecting hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars from employees who make personal calls on their city cell phones.
[snip]
HPD had no idea about these calls until we told them.
In fact, it doesn't know what any of its 823 cell phones are used for.
"It's a good thing you brought this up to our attention," said Lt. Manzo.
PREVIOUSLY: City floats idea of public safety tax
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/17/06 09:51 AM |
The mark of a true leader (updated)
From today's Chronicle:
Houston City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado deflected responsibility Thursday for the $130,000 in improper bonuses some of her employees received, saying she trusted subordinates to oversee payroll administration.
"There is no way that an elected official can police every single iota, every single detail, that goes on in their office," Alvarado said. "My job is to delegate, to hire people, to trust people that will bring forward any types of irregularities."
With that approach to management, she wouldn't last long in the private sector.
While Councilwoman Alvarado is busy deflecting responsibility, former Councilman Gordon Quan points out that as an elected official he did try to keep track of all those pesky iotas and details:
Quan presided over the office during leaner fiscal years, he said, when some questioned whether it ought to exist. He regularly monitored the budget with a city finance official.
"A bonus of that magnitude would have stuck out like a sore thumb," he said.
And:
Former mayor pro tem Gordon Quan worked with three of the four staffers. When he ran the office it was often under budget, and he gave several thousand dollars back to the city's general fund.
He said, "Justifying our budget was very important. So there was no fat in the budget. So when you allocate additional funds, somebody had to see that that had a direct impact on it."
"Stuck out like a sore thumb" and "somebody had to see." Well, not according to Houston's Mayor Pro Tem.
UPDATE: Chris Baker is attempting to get Controller Annise Parker on air. So far, he says, no luck. He says Councilman Mark Goldberg will be on in the 6 p.m. hour.
Ken Charles dropped by to chat about it and KC is incredulous that someone higher up in the food chain didn't have to approve this bonus money. KC also thinks it's time for Alvarado to consider another line of work, preferably something not involving taxpayer money.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/17/06 09:42 AM |
16 February 2006
Bonusgate: Is yesterday's news just the beginning? (updated)
Further to the news that broke yesterday regarding the Mayor Pro Tem's office, Houblog today suggests that the practice of doling out illegitimate "bonuses" to municipal employees may extend well beyond the immediate scandal, and he gives some insight into the mechanism that may have been used to award such "bonuses."
Seriously, has anyone seen or heard from the City Controller?
Please read the Houblog post in its entirety. This investigation may become very interesting.
UPDATE (02-17-2006): Paul Bettencourt is guest hosting for Edd Hendee on KSEV-700, and is riled up over bonusgate. He just interviewed Councilmember Addie Wiseman, who also seemed flabbergasted over the bonusgate scandal. However, Councilmember Wiseman admitted on air that she has doled out much smaller bonuses -- technically "temporary pay increases" that would amount to a bonus of $1000 -- to her own employees. Neither she nor Bettencourt seemed to think this sleight of hand (which is the mechanism described by Houblog) is/was a big deal, because of the amount.
Hang on folks, because as Houblog suggests, a thorough investigation is liable to get very interesting.
Here is today's Chronicle coverage from Matt Stiles.
UPDATE 2 (02-17-2006): Houblog posts more today.
UPDATE 3 (02-17-2006): Rick Casey (yes, Rick Casey) has a column on this topic that's actually timely and substantive, and doesn't appear to crib too much from the work of others. Who knew he could pull that off?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/16/06 04:53 PM |
More on Chief Hurtt's surveillance camera program
The Chronicle's Alexis Grant has more on Chief Hurtt's plan to install surveillance cameras downtown. The Houston Downtown Management District has decided where the cameras will be placed and will fund the program:
The Downtown Management District, which works to improve the central business district using taxes paid by downtown property owners, has proposed five sites for cameras at intersections on and around Main. They are high-pedestrian-traffic, not high-crime, locations, said Bob Eury, executive director of the district.
"The goal is for people to feel safe," said Eury, who compared the cameras to those at shopping malls. "We're finding new ways to make it basically safer in reality and perception."
Mayor White may not have known about Chief Hurtt's camera plan:
Mayor Bill White, who must approve the camera program for it to go into effect, said he had not yet discussed it with Hurtt.
"There's a legitimate right to privacy," White said. "On the other hand ... if there are some crime hot spots, then we want something where we don't have to have uniformed officers staring at a particular spot 24 hours a day."
Except that according to Bob Eury, these are not crime hot spots. So, is Mayor White in favor of surveillance cameras in "high-pedestrian-traffic" areas?
The City Council's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security will consider the program Feb. 28.
This committee is chaired by Councilman Adrian Garcia. Sigh.
The ACLU does not sound thrilled:
Some privacy advocates questioned whether apartment owners should be required to install cameras.
"It's radical and unheard-of," said Scott Henson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Texas Police Accountability Project.
And according to KTRK-13's coverage Chief Hurtt's plans go even further:
Chief Hurtt believes it would be cheaper to have the cameras than to hire enough police officers and have them at every street corner. He's even suggesting that those homeowners who have too many calls for service to their homes be forced to install the cameras as well.
Does Councilwoman Ada Edwards find this troubling?
How long before the LiveJournalists weigh in?
BLOGVERSATION: Grits for Breakfast, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/16/06 08:40 AM |
15 February 2006
Is Houston ready for downtown surveillance cameras?
Wow, Chief Hurtt really has a thing for cameras:
Surveillance cameras monitored by police could be installed along Main Street in an effort to deter crime in the downtown area, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said today.
He said the project is still in the planning stages, but he hopes to have a least five cameras up this year.
''I know a lot of people are concerned about big brother, but my response to that is if you aren't doing anything wrong why worry about it,'' he said.
Has Council approved this? If it's already in the planning stages, when was the public told of this? Is this something that can go forward without Council approval? It's disturbing that Chief Hurtt is using HPD's manpower shortage as an excuse to install surveillance cameras, a manpower shortage he and Mayor White have shrugged off for quite awhile. Isn't a police officer on a street corner more of a crime deterrent than a camera? Does the city want to play defense forever or does the city want to prevent crime? Is this world-class?
Now. Remember how the Editorial Live Journalists came UNGLUED at the thought of the NSA listening in on terrorist phone calls? Surely they will slap down Chief Hurtt's surveillance cameras.
Right?
RELATED: Sedosi asks:
On the heels of Chief Hurtt's public safety tax proposal, one has to wonder what other trial balloons the Mayor's office wants to float in the coming weeks?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/15/06 07:01 PM |
KTRH: Mayor Pro Tem's staff suspended (updated)
KTRH-740 reports that several members of Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado's office have been suspended:
KTRH News has learned that four members of Houston City Council member Carol Alvarado's office have been suspended.
The suspensions come as a result of an internal city investigation into payroll irregularities which may have involved bonuses paid to those workers.
A spokesman for Mayor Bill White's office says all four workers were employees of Alvarado's mayor pro-tem office and not her council office.
Mayor White is expected to talk about the investigation at a press conference later this afternoon.
I wonder if this provoked a profane outburst from the occasionally fiery, potty-mouthed Mayor Pro Tem?
UPDATE: The Chronicle's Matt Stiles posts a short blurb.
UPDATE 2: Kudos to KPRC-2, which sent an email alert pointing to their more complete account:
Agents raided the office of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado Wednesday, confiscating equipment and placing employees on administrative leave, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Officials said the city's finance director received reports of payroll irregularities, possibly including some improper pay raises awarded to employees in Alvarado's office, and reported it to the Office of Inspector General.
OIG agents and Houston police raided the offices shortly after lunchtime.
Four employees were removed and immediately placed on leave. Officials would not comment on Alvarado's status.
Computers were confiscated from the office and the door locks were changed.
Mayor Bill White plans to hold a news conference shortly. A statement is also expected from Alvarado.
UPDATE 3: Mayor White (via KHOU-11's live webcast) indicates that the city is investigating improper bonuses of $130,000 for the four staffers who were suspended.
UPDATE (02-16-2006): Updated coverage, from the Chronicle, KHOU, KPRC.
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog (I) and Houblog (II), Isolated Desolation, Off the Kuff, Baboon Pirates, Lou Minatti.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/15/06 02:52 PM |
13 February 2006
City floats idea of public safety tax
Facing a police staffing crisis which could last for years, some Houston officials have raised the possibility of a "public safety tax" to boost the city's shrinking police force.
City Council's Public Safety Committee Chairman Adrian Garcia says he'll support such an idea, though Police Chief Harold Hurtt didn't voice an opinion. Hurtt did say he spent hours in front of Garcia's committee today detailing HPD money woes.
"It's not up to me to determine how to do it, but in some cities they have put in a special public safety tax for police and fire," Hurtt added.
Houston has about 700 fewer police officers than it did just two years ago.
The department also needs some $200 million for various future projects, including buying a new radio system.
No.
First, the city should commit all red light camera revenue to hiring more police officers.
Second, stop all unnecessary spending: day labor sites, downtown parks, museums, grants, expensive desks, etc. What fat is lurking in Houston city government? What about city-provided and paid-for cell phones, in non-critical areas? What about bottled water? Do any departments have contracts for bottled water? Are there conventions or other city paid-for trips city employees are attending? Are they absolutely critical? What about city departments reducing their budgets by a set percentage? Did that happen? Funnel that money into HPD's pressing needs. There is NOTHING more important for city officials to focus on than public safety and Houston needs to cut out the fluff and focus its resources in that direction.
Government is notorious for being wasteful and inefficient. A new tax to fund what should already be the city's number one priority is not the way to go, and any city official thinking along those lines had better think again. Make sure city government is operating at maximum efficiency and a whole lot of money would be freed up, I'll bet.
UPDATE: KHOU-11 has a story posted now with this at the end:
But the mayor apparently doesn't like that idea. In a written statement, his office told us, "We have a plan to significantly increase the size of HPD without raising the property tax rate or the sales tax rate."
UPDATE (02-14-2006): KTRK-13 covers the story, and says a public vote would take place before the enactment of such a tax.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/13/06 04:30 PM |
10 February 2006
Is council about to put some teeth in auto insurance requirements?
The Dallas city council recently approved a measure to tow and impound cars involved in automobile accidents if the drivers cannot produce proof of insurance:
The Dallas Police Auto Pound is where cars involved in accidents will end up, if their drivers don't have insurance.
A unanimous city council approved the new policy but not all were enthusiastic.
Some fear the flood of cars will overwhelm the crowded impound lot.
And some say it will unevenly hurt minorities and the poor because the cost of getting towed climbs fast.
The towing, storage and impound fee is $136. Then $20 a day storage fee every day after.
After 48 hours, there's a $50 notification fee to let the owner know, if he doesn't collect his car, it will be sold at auction.
Add that to the price of buying new insurance, just after an accident.
Some say, they should tow even for simple traffic violations.
"That's when it needs to be confiscated. If they do not have insurance, that's the law. The law is they have to have insurance," said council member Mitchell Rasansky.
This policy doesn't do that. But most say, it does make the point.
Yesterday, KTRH-740's Chris Baker reported that talk is circulating downtown that Houston city council may soon consider such a measure.
There is no denying that Houston has a problem with uninsured motorists involved in accidents, and that such irresponsible drivers end up sticking it to the rest of us in the form of higher insurance premiums.
So, is a measure like the one enacted by Dallas likely to have the desired effect? Is it too predatory? Is it not predatory enough (i.e. should the vehicle be towed for simple traffic violations, as one Dallas councilmember seemed to support)? Please discuss.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/10/06 09:27 AM |
08 February 2006
Nestor not giving up on Houston's red light camera contract
Nestor was one of the companies vying for Houston's red light camera contract, and it's a company facing some serious financial problems.
Now Nestor has issued a press release saying it will "pursue every avenue to examine the City's decision-making process."
According to KPRC-2, Council will vote on the contract sometime in the next three to four weeks.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/08/06 06:57 PM |
07 February 2006
Are speed cameras next for Houston?
Following up on Kevin's post about the city of Houston choosing a red light camera vendor, I'd like to add that American Traffic Solutions, Inc., is also a big fan of speed cameras:
In a move to bolster flagging revenue from its automated enforcement system, the Mesa, Arizona City Council voted Monday to increase the number of red light cameras in the city from 13 to 30. Five of the new digital cameras will also be set to issue speeding tickets in addition to the red light tickets.
[snip]
American Traffic Solutions, a private vendor, will operate the cameras and share revenue with the city.
And:
Speed cameras could soon spread across Maryland following the state General Assembly's final decision to implement a photo ticket program in Montgomery County. The Senate voted 31-16 today and the House 89-45 on Tuesday to override last year's veto of the idea by Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R)
[snip]
Lobbyist David Carroll of Capitol Strategies pushed the legislation on behalf of American Traffic Solutions, which stands to make millions from the program
Let's not forget that the issue of speed cameras in Houston has come up before:
The city is considering installing radar cameras on Houston city streets to catch speeding drivers.
Several manufacturers are trying to convince City Council to buy the high-tech law enforcement gadgets, which snap a picture of a car traveling faster than the designated speed.
[snip]
Some council members said before they consider photo radar, they want to make sure red light cameras at dangerous intersections are effective.
So there you go. Is there anything else Mayor White and City Council would like to do to make people think twice about visiting their world-class city?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/07/06 06:54 AM |
31 January 2006
Fireworks at City Council
City Council business under Mayor White has tended to have all the excitement of paint drying, which has been quite a contrast to the last, acrimonious years of the reign of Lee P. Brown.
However, KTRH-740 just reported that we had some fireworks between Councilmember Carol Alvarado and Doctor-Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs last week.
Apparently, Councilmember Alvarado cursed at the doctor-councilwoman last week, according to KTRH.
However, KTRH reports that it was off camera/off microphone, and thus not picked up by the recordings for the public access channel. Because we certainly wouldn't want the public to see one member of Council behaving like an ingrate!
Councilmember Alvarado told KTRH "I'm sorry if she got offended." What a nice non-apology.
So, that was a vague report. What did Councilmember Alvarado call the doctor-councilwoman?
UPDATE: Chris Baker reports that Councilmember Alvarado called the doctor-councilwoman a "bitch."
Oh my!
ANNE ADDS: This doesn't seem world-class. Or ideal.
Will Councilwoman Alvarado show some decency and REALLY apologize, or will she act as if she's the aggrieved one? A certain level of maturity is required for the former.
BLOGVERSATION: Lou Minatti.
UPDATE (02-01-2006): KTRK-13 posts a story with less detail.
UPDATE 2 (02-01-2006): KPRC-2 also posts a story without much detail. There's still no posting on KTRH, so the account and links here are about the most complete roundup so far (not that readers of certain cityblogs that make a policy of never linking to other blogs would know).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/06 05:11 PM |
Campaign finance and double standards (the series)
Houblog comments on SEIU's ongoing efforts to organize municipal employees.
And the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists finally address SEIU's possibly illegal efforts to elect Sue Lovell to City Council:
The unions have also engaged in political hardball. SEIU mounted a controversial $120,000 media effort that contributed to the election of at-large Councilwoman Sue Lovell in a December runoff against Jay Aiyer. Although both unions endorsed Lovell, SEIU showed it was willing to heavily outspend AFSCME to make its point.
Controversial?
That's all the Chronicle editorial board (which has complained ad nauseam about the interplay of interest-group money and politics when it involves Republicans) has to say about SEIU's possibly illegal support of Democrat Sue Lovell in a local election -- and months after the possibly illegal and certainly troubling effort took place?
That's weak.
PREVIOUSLY: SEIU wins over janitors, sets sights on city employees; Editorial LiveJournalists ignore alleged SEIU campaign finance irregularities; Campaign finance and double standards; Campaign finance and double standards -cont'd; A truly quotidian editorial on interest-group money and national politics.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/06 08:57 AM |
28 January 2006
But it's a world-class catalyst for future development
Slampo tackles the Houston Pavilions topic:
In the meantime, we have questions, such as why, when there’s so much concern in the air about “affordable housing,” local governments are using tax dollars (yeah, the ones from the federal government come from taxes, too) to subsidize a development that will offer what we heard described on TV as “luxury condos” in its 12-story residential tower. (Yes, we know the canned answer: The development is supposed to be a “catalyst” for further nearby development---the usual vague and unquantifiable justification that’s tossed out when public money is funneled to splashy private projects [if a “minor emergency center” can be considered “splashy”].)
Yes, these things just take time...and plenty of (taxpayer) money. Lots and lots of both, as Mayor White tried to explain the other day.
Because hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars aren't enough. More will be needed to spur future development (wink, wink) that will benefit...a tiny percentage of Houstonians.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/28/06 01:48 PM |
26 January 2006
State of the City (updated)
Mayor White's giving his assessment today:
The mayor will deliver his annual State of the City address Thursday at noon.
Mayor Bill White will present his 2006 outlook for the Bayou City before the Greater Houston Partnership.
The address is at the Hilton Americas Hotel downtown.
Look for the Chronicle to cover this glowingly on the editorial side.
As a point of contrast, Dr. Abe Saavedra will give HISD's State of the Schools speech on February 7th. Look for the Chronicle not to cover this glowingly; in fact, I'll be holding my breath.
UPDATE: Here's Matt Stiles' initial story on the mayor's speech, and here's the text of the speech from the city's website.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/26/06 10:05 AM |
Councilman Garcia scratches his head over HPD funding
Chief Hurtt is asking for help in fighting Houston's increasing (world-class) crime problem:
Even as his officers use short-term strategies to battle Houston's recent surge in homicides, Police Chief Harold Hurtt on Wednesday called for the city to make a long-term financial commitment to public safety — and for residents to step in, as well.
His department needs more officers, updated technology and better means of collecting crime statistics, Hurtt said. But police also need for Houstonians, especially those in apartments, to take a stand against crime in their neighborhoods, he added.
Nothing surprising there, until we get to this quote from Councilman Adrian Garcia:
City Councilman Adrian Garcia said that, while the city has invested heavily in public safety, it needs to put even more into it.
"We need to invest more, but the question then becomes, 'From where?' " said Garcia, a retired Houston police officer and chairman of the council's public safety committee.
From where? Good grief! How about from the African American museum, the city's new downtown park and underground parking garage, day labor centers, Safeclear, and (temporary) homeless relocation? How about the proposed citywide wi-fi and horse trails?
If Mayor White and city council were truly serious about public safety, the money to fund it would easily be found. The fact that Mayor White has a gazillion other interests shows where his priorities are.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/26/06 07:39 AM |
24 January 2006
County wants to change the Sports Authority's mission
Harris County wants to look at the Sports Authority's mission to see if it should be changed:
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and county commissioners have approved an in-house review of the Harris County-Houston sports authority amid questions about whether it's outlived its usefullness.
The review is the latest chapter in what has become an ongoing debate at the county level about whether the sports authority should be shut down now that all three professional sports stadiums have been completed. The authority's main purpose now is to service debt on bonds that were sold to finance the stadiums, but has virtually no other responsibilities. Last month, the authority's CEO, Oliver Luck, stepped-down to take a job with the new Houston soccer franchise. Previous efforts to shutter the authority have been unsuccessful, so now Eckels says a change in roles might be appropriate.
"I think it's important that we look at the authority and say, okay, we've got a convention bureau that markets, we individually market. Do we want them marketing too or do we think that maybe we should have them looking at facility improvements or maybe we have them looking at other operations within this community. They do work for the court and the city and so all we're saying today is let's let the court and the city tell them which direction they should take as they move forward and hire a new director."
The authority has a $3 million budget and does market the city's sports venues, but most of that work is done by each individual franchise, including the Astros and Rockets, which both own their facilities.
[snip]
Houston Mayor Bill White's communication director Frank Michel says the mayor is open to suggestions on how the sports authority should move forward, but doesn't want local taxpayers to suffer.
"He would be in favor of looking at any way to streamline the operations, avoid duplication and increase accountability and transparency. What he does not want to do is to have some kind of an arrangment that would shift the bonded debt onto city and county taxpayers of the sports authority."
Although the state legislature has said in the past that the city and county have the power to shut down the sports authority, it's not likely that will happen anytime soon. The sports authority could hire a new chief executive by next month.
It's important to remember that the Sports Authority has five employees (now that CEO Oliver Luck is gone) whose combined salaries equal $622,000, and whose main job is to pay off stadium debt.
Judge Eckels' quote makes it sound as if he wants to find a new job for the Sports Authority, which is disappointing. If the Judge and the Mayor really don't want to transfer the debt-paying duties to either the city or the county, then they should at least cut back the Authority's staff and budget to just what is needed to pay off the debt. There is still plenty of fat in that $3 million budget.
PREVIOUSLY: Shut down the Sports Authority and save $40 million, Billy Burge: THE best reason to shut down the Sports Authority!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/24/06 07:27 PM |
City of Houston to build parking garage under new downtown park
And here we thought the city was low on funds, since we have a problem with increasing crime and decreasing police manpower. Well, it looks as though Mayor White has found $21 million for a parking garage to be built under the city's grand new downtown park. Seriously!
Plans for a new downtown park now include a multi-story underground garage. The 12-acre park will extend from the George R. Brown Convention Center, across Crawford Avenue and into the Houston Center area.
In fact Crawford Avenue will end on either side of the park and be closed to through traffic. While the final plans for the park won't be made public until later this spring, Guy Hagstette, the Director of the Houston Downtown Park Conservancy says it will be more than an appealing green space.
It's going to have a number of features in it ranging from areas where you can throw a foot ball, jogging trails, performance area for outdoor musical performances, a pond, water features, a major play area for children that includes water in it, restaurants, other dining opportunities, gardens, tree house decks, all kinds of stuff, it's very exciting.
Just recently announced, an underground parking garage. It will hold 600-plus cars, about the same number of spaces on the surface lots that will be lost when the park is constructed. The unique aspect of this project is that the park is most important element. Hagstette says the design of the garage will fit the park, not the other way around.
[snip]
The city will foot the 21 and a half million cost of the garage, but the park will be built with private funds. Hagstette says construction should begin in late summer and be complete by the end of next year.
(Tree house decks?)
Actually, based on past news stories, the last paragraph should say that the park will be built with mostly private funds. Houston is still coughing up several million to invest in the park itself.
Is this project being directed by our new Houston Parking Authority? Who knows -- there is no departmental listing on the city's website for the Authority.
Also, the story says Guy Hagstette is the director of the Houston Downtown Park Conservancy. Past jobs for Mr. Hagstette include overseeing the development of the Main Street Square fountain. Here's a city of Houston press release with more information on the Conservancy's director.
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Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/24/06 07:57 AM |
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