Houston Mayor John Whitmire held his inaugural State of the City address on September 17, 2024, at the Hilton Americas. The Mayor talked about his upbringing, his early years in the Texas Legislature, and the challenges his administration inherited since he became the leader of the nation’s fourth-largest city.
In a fireside chat, Mayor Whitmire discussed his priorities, including public safety, transportation/mobility options, quality of life issues, and eliminating fraud and waste while leading a transparent and accountable city for Houstonians. Despite a budget shortfall and expenses related to two powerful storms in 2024, Mayor Whitmire stressed that property taxes are not on his agenda.
“I’m not going to look or raise taxes until I can tell Houstonians I’ve done everything possible to cut out waste duplication, and quite frankly, corruption,” he told the audience.
Houston-based accounting firm Ernst & Young is doing an audit looking for waste, fraud, duplication, and overall operational efficiencies of the departments,
“Houston is a great city with great people. However, like all major cities, we have challenges” said Mayor Whitmire.
Watch the Mayor’s full address here.
