Several other efforts to close a large budget gap could help save Houston government jobs.

City officials have announced that they will consider relying on employee attrition, efficiency gains from technology and money from a reserve fund to make up for about $7.5 million missing from Houston’s budget this fiscal year.

“I think we’re on the front end of recovery as opposed to the middle or the end,” Controller Ronald C. Green told Bloomberg. “If the trends continue in the direction that they’re going, we will be in a little more of a dire situation.”


During November 2009, the City of Houston brought in $33.9 million in sales tax revenue, an 18.5 percent decrease from the previous year. According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, that decline was the result of employers cutting jobs and the public spending less at retail shops and restaurants.

Houston’s current budget is at about $1.9 billion. The city has a reserve of about $170 million after using $52 million from that fund so far this year. City officials are not expecting to cut jobs or raise taxes, but residents may see an increase in some fees – particularly water and sewer fees – to make up for the needed money.

On the employee side, officials are considering filling fewer job openings throughout most areas of city government. There could be some big problems with this solution, however, as some departments are already asking for more workers.

For instance, the Houston Police Department has reported needing about 1,000 more officers during the next six years. The city is planning to conduct a performance audit on the department’s purchasing and payroll operations in hopes they can become more efficient instead of hiring more employees.

In an additional effort to make money, the city is considering selling pension-obligation bonds to help pay for pensions, as well as refinancing other debt to lower borrowing costs.

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