When Hollins arrived at Houston City College\u2019s North Forest campus on Tuesday, attendees flocked around him for a hug or a selfie. When he acknowledged that his criticism of Whitmire\u2019s budget hadn\u2019t made him popular at City Hall, someone shouted from the audience, \u201cYou\u2019re popular with us!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whitmire released his proposed $7.5 billion budget<\/a> on May 5, noting at the time that several public hearings and committee meetings would be held prior to final adoption next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Standing behind the mayor at last week\u2019s press conference were more than a dozen department directors and council members. Notably absent were the three elected officials \u2014 Abbie Kamin, Edward Pollard and Tiffany Thomas \u2014 who voted against the mayor\u2019s budget last year. Hollins was also not present, but he was definitely watching and preparing memes set to Notorious B.I.G.\u2019s \u201cMo\u2019 Money, Mo\u2019 Problems\u201d to drop on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Some of the controller\u2019s social media posts indicate a lighthearted effort to poke fun at the budget proposal. Some take a more serious tone. In a May 6 video, Hollins looked into the camera and said simply, \u201cThe mayor\u2019s budget is bullshit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire\u2019s budget focuses on two key changes designed to generate revenue and close a $174 million budget deficit. The first is a $5 monthly use-based administrative fee for solid waste. It\u2019s not a tax or a \u201ctrash fee,\u201d Whitmire claims, and will be implemented alongside service improvements, including new trucks and more reliable service. The fee is expected to generate $24 million in its first phase of operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s also proposing to move Solid Waste out of the general fund and into the utility system, which frees up $117 million in the general fund but creates its own set of problems, according to critics. Houston is the only major city in Texas that doesn\u2019t have a garbage fee and it\u2019s one of the few that doesn\u2019t classify Solid Waste as a utility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire\u2019s second proposed major change is a 5 percent rental fee on utility gross revenues, which he says will generate an estimated $100 million per year. \u201cThis is a simple standard practice,\u201d Whitmire said. \u201cWhen a utility uses public streets to operate, it compensates the city, just as businesses already do when they use street space for things like valet lanes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHouston is updating how it funds core services to create a more stable, sustainable financial foundation without raising property taxes,\u201d Whitmire said. \u201cThese changes align Houston with national best practices, reflect the real cost of delivering services and help ensure long-term stability.\u201d<\/p>\n But the numbers don\u2019t balance, Hollins said. Whitmire\u2019s proposal to move Solid Waste out of the general fund and into the utility system just moves millions from Solid Waste costs into another area, relabeling expenses rather than solving the budget deficit.\u00a0 The gap would be covered by water and sewer funds, which could mean higher water bills or less investment in infrastructure in the future, Hollins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my job to tell you the truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t made any friends at City Hall with that approach. The good news is I don\u2019t report to anyone at City Hall. I report to the 2.4 million people who make this city great. It\u2019s my job to be their watchdog, and I take that job very seriously.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hollins further pointed out that the mayor claimed in his press conference that last year\u2019s budget was balanced with efficiencies and that the new Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal has no increase in fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNone of that is true,\u201d Hollins said. \u201cHere\u2019s what\u2019s real. This budget shifts costs onto working families. It hides the price tag of city services and it puts Houston on a dangerous financial path.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hollins added that the budget proposal also doesn\u2019t outline how the trash fee would improve service or how future fee increases would work. Utility funds operate like a business, Hollins said, meaning that while the general fund is paid for with property and sales taxes, utilities are paid for by their own fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Northwood Manor Civic Club president Fred Woods, who introduced Hollins at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, said he attended the gathering because \u201cwe want to know not only where our tax dollars are going but whether the government is delivering results.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kourtney Revels, a native Houstonian and member of the advocacy group Northeast Action Collective<\/a>, said that although her organization primarily supports \u201cflood justice,\u201d she\u2019s also concerned about the trash fee. It\u2019s inequitable and lacks transparency, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis trash fee will disproportionately burden communities like ours,\u201d she said, referencing the North Forest and Kashmere Gardens area in northeast Houston. \u201cWe\u2019ll see it impact people on a fixed income. It will not increase the solid waste budget. Do I feel like this $5 fee will improve the service? No, because we can\u2019t even guarantee that we\u2019ll have the staff for this program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to depend on the mayor and city council to do what they say they\u2019re going to do with the money, so we feel like it\u2019s another sham fee,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Northeast Action Collective is proposing budget amendments including a fully-funded $45 million ditch re-establishment program. The program already exists but is only in the northeast quadrant of the city. \u201cWe live in these open-ditch communities, so having a program that\u2019s focused on making sure water flows in and out of our communities has been a huge win,\u201d Revels said. \u201cWe want to make sure it stretches throughout the city to the south side and Sunnyside.\u201d<\/p>\n More town hall-style gatherings are scheduled where the public can ask questions and get information on the budget from Hollins\u2019 perspective. The following meetings are scheduled:<\/p>\n \u2022 May 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Acres Homes Multiservice Center, 6719 W. Montgomery Road, Houston<\/p>\n \u2022 May 17 at 1 p.m. at Axelrad, 1517 Alabama St., Houston<\/p>\n \u2022 May 18 at 6:30 p.m.at BakerRipley | Gulfton Sharpstown, 6500 Rookin St., Houston<\/p>\n \u2022 May 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Kirby Ice House: Memorial, 1015 Gessner Road, Houston<\/p>\n \u2022 May 23 at 1 p.m. at La Escondida (Spanish translation available), 1120 Hill Road, Houston<\/p>\n There was never any doubt that Whitmire\u2019s budget would be criticized. Last year\u2019s budget included an unprecedented five-year $832 million police contract that will cost the city about $122 million this year. Officials with the advocacy group West Street Recovery<\/a> say the mayor has continually focused on \u201cpolice overspending\u201d while cutting city services like parks, libraries, flood mitigation and solid waste. Houston\u2019s most frequent 311 complaint by far last year was about trash not getting picked up properly or on time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire says that public safety remains a priority among Houstonians, and he\u2019s right, according to recent survey results. However, some Houstonians define public safety as drainage projects so people aren\u2019t trapped in their homes during heavy rains, says Alice Liu, co-chair of West Street Recovery, who is fond of the phrase, \u201cYou can\u2019t shoot a flood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A recent Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research survey<\/a> reports that the No. 1 concern among local residents is the economy. About 75 residents at Hollins\u2019 meeting said their top priority was cost of living and affordability.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Kourtney.jpeg\")
Kourtney Revels attended Controller Chris Hollins\u2019 budget town hall meeting on May 12 to discuss her concerns about the proposed trash fee. Credit: April Towery<\/p>\n