Houston's Chief Operating Officer On Fixing The Budget

1.6M Houstonians Are Not Ready for Hurricane Season

When Hurricane Beryl was bearing down on Houston, the wife of the city's top emergency manager decided — for the first time in years — to stay home. Beryl passed directly over their house. Brian Mason, Director of the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management, tells that story on camera, and uses it to explain why he gets his own family out of Houston 72 hours before any storm — a full day and a half before official evacuation orders typically come down. Mason brings 26 years of emergency work to this conversation, from F5 tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma to running the Emergency Operations Center for 2.4 million Houstonians. He walks us  through OEM's updated household guidance — the city has officially moved its recommended supply kit from 3 days to 7 days — and lays out the four pillars Houstonians should know: have a plan, have a kit, get connected to your neighbors, and use trusted sources like the National Weather Service and Houston OEM. He shares the specifics of his own family's contingency plan, including a designated meetup point at a gas station in Brenham on Highway 290 if cell service goes down. And he names the statistic that keeps him up at night: a 2025 Kinder Institute study found only one-third of Houstonians are prepared for a storm. With 2.4 million residents, that's roughly 1.6 million people who aren't ready. Mason also corrects a dangerous public misconception — 80 to 85 percent of storms that hit Houston spin up in the Bay of Campeche or Gulf of Mexico and reach landfall within 72 hours, not the five-day window most residents assume they'll get. Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: * Instagram: @houstonmayor * X: @HouMayor * Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ [https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/] Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.

Houston's Chief Operating Officer On Fixing The Budget

Houston's city budget has run a structural deficit for nearly 40 years — the last structurally balanced budget was under Mayor Lee Brown. In Episode 9 of 901 Bagby, Chief Operating Officer Steven David walks through exactly how the Whitmire administration plans to end that streak, and the math is straightforward. Two policy moves, one budget cycle, and the projected FY27 gap shrinks. David is a fifth-generation Houstonian who left Accenture and a higher private-sector salary to take the COO job. He explains the Ernst & Young assessment commissioned in Year 1 — a four-part review covering org structure, performance, spend, and forensic accounting — and the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program that followed: 1,056 employees accepted the offer, 80% of those positions were deleted from the budget, and the city locked in roughly $100 million in permanent annual savings without a single layoff. Then comes the FY27 budget itself: declaring solid waste a municipal utility (lifting ~$117M off the general fund), and a new right-of-way rental fee on the water and sewer system (~$104M in new general fund revenue) that aligns Houston with Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. Plus the $5 monthly solid waste fee — the Mayor insisted on $5, not $25 — that makes Houston the last major city in Texas to charge for garbage service. The stakes, in David's words: do nothing, and the FY30 gap approaches $450 million — enough to wipe out libraries, parks, the health department, and most of city administration. This is the same briefing he's given  87 times. Now you've got it too. Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: * Instagram: @houstonmayor * X: @HouMayor * Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ [https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/] Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.

Houston's Latest Public Safety Efforts & New Crime Data

In his second month in office, Mayor John Whitmire got a call: HPD had 260,000 suspended cases that had never been investigated. "Let me say it again," he tells the room. "260,000." A year later, Houston's murder rate is down 36% year-over-year — the strongest improvement among major U.S. cities tracked by the Major Cities Chiefs Association — and HPD is at 5,400 officers, the highest staffing level in the city's history. Episode 8 of 901 Bagby is recorded during National Police Week, and the Mayor talks about it. He explains the multi-agency enforcement surge against non-compliant bars in Houston — and notes that the loudest complainant was a bar owner operating with zero permits who got arrested during a routine inspection. He describes walking into after-hours club raids himself: "crack cocaine on the floor, cash spread around, human trafficking victims." He recounts being robbed at gunpoint in his own garage in 1992 — begging for his life — and ties it directly to why HPD's 5.6-minute Code 1 response time is personal. He names Officer Tim Hearn, a groomsman in his wedding, shot and killed on a drug raid in 1976, bleeding to death in a Sears parking lot on Harrisburg. The back half turns to what's getting built: $30 million from the Stormwater Fund to tear down abandoned structures choking the city's drainage system, 750 lane miles of road paving already this year with another 1,000 funded, revived plans to extend Metro Rail to both Houston airports, and the expansion of the non-profit Covenant House to serve homeless young adults. The Mayor closes with a story from minutes before the mic went on: a George Brown Convention Center housekeeper stopped him to celebrate her new contract — an immediate raise from $15 to $20 an hour, back pay in hand. "That's what it's all about," he says. "That's why you run for office." 00:24 Bar & Club Enforcement: Setting the Record Straight  04:24 Crime Down 36% & HPD at Record Strength  08:23 National Police Week: Honoring Fallen Officers  11:14 Demolition Day: Clearing Properties To Clear The Drains 13:39 Transportation: Roads, Metro & Airport Connectivity  16:49 Youth Homelessness & Covenant House  18:42 Advice to Graduates & the Call to Public Service Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: * Instagram: @houstonmayor * X: @HouMayor * Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ [https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/] Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.

Houston Public Works Director Randy Macchi: Major Infrastructure Improvements

When Randy Macchi took over as Houston's Public Works Director, the city had 1,900 active water main leaks running at the same time. He's brought that number down to roughly 100 — and other mayors have started calling to ask how. Macchi isn't an engineer. He's a  University of Houston law school graduate who ran a nationwide property and casualty insurer before Mayor Whitmire put him in charge of the nation's largest accredited public works agency. In this episode, he breaks down what he walked into, what has changed, and what he's willing to promise on camera. That includes 750 lane miles of roadway rehabilitation in just 10 months — more than double the city's previous best — the new $5 monthly solid waste administrative fee, the right-of-way rental fee that ends the city's practice of charging every private Texas utility except its own, and the stat that reframes Houston's street problem: nine out of ten sinkholes trace back to a collapsed wastewater pipe. He also explains why, the day before his first day on the job, he sat in a car dealership waiting room, watched a Public Works crisis break on the news, and quietly asked himself what he'd gotten into. Key topics: Water main leak reduction · 750 lane miles in 10 months · Solid Waste consolidation · $5 solid waste administrative fee · Right-of-way rental fee · Houston sinkhole causes · What "delivery" means as a governing standard Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: * Instagram: @houstonmayor * X: @HouMayor * Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ [https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/] Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.

Houston Mayor: We Won't Tolerate Racism

Houston Mayor John Whitmire doesn't hold back on tough decisions—including firing a top-performing police officer for using racial slurs, despite her stellar academy record. In this episode from City Hall, Mayor Whitmire opens up about how his personal faith guides his leadership of America's fourth-largest city, shares scripture that shapes his staff meetings, and addresses criticism head-on about Houston's $500 million FIFA World Cup preparations. He reveals why FIFA called Houston the "most prepared city" in America, explains the real story behind Blue Santa program changes, and announces historic numbers: Houston now has 5,400 police officers and 400 new firefighters—the largest public safety force in the city's history. From infrastructure investments to inclusive leadership philosophy, this conversation tackles both the achievements and challenges facing Houston as it prepares for the international stage. Thanks for listening! New episodes from inside Houston City Hall, featuring candid conversations about the issues, decisions, and leadership shaping the future of Houston. Connect with Mayor John Whitmire and the Mayor’s Office: * Instagram: @houstonmayor * X: @HouMayor * Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ [https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/] Follow the show for more conversations from inside the Mayor’s Office.