Mayor Parker sees Houston emerging cleaner, safer, thriving and providing jobs.

Annual State of the City

Jay Blazek Crossley, Apr 18, 11.

City of Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s Annual State of the City Address at a recent Greater Houston Partnership luncheon was received as a hopeful outlook for Houston’s future, but a warning that the City will still need to ride out the financial storm over the next year, according to reports in the Houston Chronicle, Off the Kuff, KUHF, and KHOU.

Additional budget cuts and layoffs may come next year, while Mayor Parker sees the local economy picking up, noting three accolades, “the largest five year employment gain, the best city to start a new career and the highest level of entrepreneurial activity of any of the largest metro areas.” Budget tightening and redesigning City departments are working, according to Mayor Parker, who indicated that citizens are getting better customer service and better outcomes with a more efficiently running city government.

Mayor Parker covered many accomplishments from her first 15 months as Mayor and provided a few proposals going forward, including that she will soon enact the Hire Houston First program promised on the campaign trail as an executive order. This order will mean that the City of Houston will favor local businesses in awarding contracts, all else being equal. And in a related policy - all else being equal - veterans will be given preference in all City of Houston hiring decisions.

Off the Kuff noted happily that Mayor Parker indicated that the City of Houston will pursue web 2.0 type technologies to allow citizens to participate actively in the functioning of government, through things like smart phone apps that allow you to take a picture of a pothole to report it to the Public Works & Engineering Department for repair.

Houston Council Member Mike Sullivan sounded the public negative note along with praising the Mayor’s budget work, as reported in the Houston Chronicle, saying that Mayor Parker was wasting small amounts of funds and more importantly the attention of the Mayor’s office and the City, on what he called “pet projects,” which includes “programs to promote sustainability, energy savings and recycling, and the weekly City Hall farmers market.”

The Mayor’s office has posted the full text of the speech as written and a press release.

Similarly, Mayor Parker’s State of the City speech from 2010 is available as the full text of the speech as written and a press release.

Highlights from the 2011 speech:

I love this city! Nothing compares to being mayor of your hometown. The opportunity to make decisions that will provide benefits for generations to come is incomparable. I am still excited to go to work everyday…although it is admittedly more fun being mayor when there is money to spend.

...

Public safety is my number one priority. 1/3 of the general fund budget goes to police and ¼ to fire. We have not laid off a single police officer or fire fighter, although both departments have faced cuts for the first time in decades.

...

In 2010, we recorded $654 million of new economic investment resulting in nearly 11,000 new jobs. Some of this new development required companies to make upfront investments in public infrastructure improvements. In exchange, the city agreed to rebate a portion of the increased tax revenues generated as a result of a project. In the absence of these agreements, developers are likely to move forward with their projects without taking responsibility for the necessary infrastructure that might be needed. The end result can be traffic congestion or other problems for which the city is left holding the bag. If a builder wants to pay for the improvements long before we could afford to pay for them, why wouldn’t we leverage their money? It is the most efficient option for not only the city’s pocketbook, but also for the neighborhoods impacted by new development projects.

I promised a Hire Houston First policy to encourage the use of local companies and the hiring of local workers on taxpayer-funded projects so that more of our city government tax dollars stay in our local economy. To that end, an executive order awaiting my signature would mandate the selection of the local business when all else in a competitive bid process is equal. If the contract cannot be awarded to a local business, the City shall, to the extent legally permissible, give consideration to the contractor or vendor demonstrating the ability to achieve the highest use of local resources. We are also pursuing legislation in Austin that would take this executive order a step further toward an even stronger local preference policy.

Houston (and that includes the entire region) supports our troops. An executive order I signed on Veterans Day requires veterans be given preference for city jobs when their qualifications are equal to the qualifications of non-veterans competing for the same positions. The men and women who have served in our Armed Forces have demonstrated a selfless commitment to protecting our liberty. What better way to express our gratitude for that service than to assist them in finding gainful employment and in the coordination of support services.

...

Stabilizing the water and sewer department and implementing a sustainable funding source for drainage improvements have been talked about for years. We are getting it done.

We have also put in place new leadership at METRO that is committed to a long-term transit system that meets the needs of our growing population.

...

Most of you know that I cut my political teeth working on neighborhood issues. It remains a priority as we work to build a solid future for Houston. I have consolidated city resources into a Neighborhood Services group, under the able leadership of Katherine Flowers, finally putting Neighborhood Protection, Citizens Assistance and other community response divisions together.

...

The work being done by our new office of sustainability will have impacts long beyond my time in the mayor’s office. Per the Environmental Protection Agency’s ranking, we are the #1 municipal purchaser of renewable energy. We are eighth in the nation in the number of LEED certified buildings, with a goal of being number one. The recent launch of our Green Office Challenge and Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, to help green our commercial building stock, will help get us there. If your companies are not participating in these programs, get on board. Information about both of these programs is available at: greenhoustontx.gov.

...

And, we have launched sustainable food initiatives, promoting Victory Gardens in the downtown area and successfully expanding opportunities for over 40 micro-businesses by launching the Wednesday farmer’s market outside City Hall. Join us in making Houston greener by starting your own Victory Gardens and buying local food and produce each Wednesday at the farmer’s market.

...

I intend to keep working hard for you for another five years. There is still much more left to do to achieve that Houston in my dreams. More time is needed to complete the changes we’ve initiated and then institutionalize them.

Unfinished business: an independent regional crime lab, comprehensive pension reform, and preserving [the Johnson Space Center’s] position at the heart of space exploration.

...

Step forward with me five years into the future and see what Houston will be like.

We will have completed and see the fruits of the upgrades in the water and sewer system and will be able to measure it in gallons of water saved and improvements in distribution. We will have implemented Rebuild Houston and see the first new drainage and street improvement projects under construction.

We see an inner city with a necklace of parks and greenbelts and hike and bike trails along our bayous, most of it privately funded, including a stunning rebirth of Buffalo Bayou. Our historic neighborhoods are stabilized and experiencing enhanced value. A new cultural tourism center dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of our history stands in our sports district, near the familiar Dynamo Stadium.

We see the Port of Houston as the largest port of any kind in the country and our airport, under the able leadership of Director Mario Diaz, as the largest hub of the world’s largest airline. We see advances in our use of technology. Just imagine taking a photo with your PDA, sending it to our public works department and receiving automatic acknowledgment and a work order number. Just imagine Houston being known as the oil and alternative energy capital of the world. Just imagine our great city emerged from this economic downturn cleaner, safer, thriving and providing jobs.