CITY & COUNTY
News from Houston & Harris County
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS HOUSTON Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a one-year guaranteed income pilot program May 19 designed to help impoverished residents. A total of 110 program participants will receive $375 a month, totaling $4,500 annually. To qualify, an applicant must be a resident of Houston, be at least 18 years old, and have a household income at or below the federal poverty level. The application process closed May 25. HOUSTON A nal redistricting town hall meeting was held May 25 in the process of redrawing the boundaries for Houston City Council’s districts. The city redistricts every 10 years using data from the decennial U.S. census and public input. A redistricting draft plan is expected to be ready sometime in either June or July. New boundaries will go into e ect Jan. 1, 2024. HARRIS COUNTY An agreement between Harris County and The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston was approved May 24 to study local e orts to reduce opioid overdoses. Harris County commissioners unanimously approved the agreement, which will receive a maximum backing of $306,841. UTHealth Assistant Professor J. Michael Wilkerson will lead the evaluation. The agreement will last until Aug. 31 unless terminated earlier. Houston City Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. June 7 for public comment and 9 a.m. June 8 for regular business at 901 Bagby St., Houston. Meetings are streamed at www.houstontx.gov/htv. Harris County will next meet for its regular meeting at 10 a.m. June 14 at the Harris County Courthouse, 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. Meetings are streamed live at www.harriscountytx.gov. MEETINGS WE COVER
Harris County launches youth fund to reduce crime, disparities
BY DANICA LLOYD
HARRIS COUNTY In an e ort to reduce crime and address racial disparities in juvenile detention, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and other county leaders announced a new $4 million initiative May 5. The program will prioritize investment in communities with high rates of juvenile justice referrals. In April, county commissioners approved the Youth Jus- tice Community Reinvestment Fund—a program o cials said will prevent crime before it happens by supporting local organizations that engage at-risk youth. This initiative is funded by dollars initially earmarked for juvenile probation as well as the county’s general fund, o cials said. Change Happens, a local nonpro t that serves at-risk youth, will be the fund’s administrator. This group will partner with other community organizations to work with the county to invest in programming, according to a news release. “Addressing the root causes associated with juvenile
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced the new initiative at Change Happens on May 5. (Courtesy Harris County Judge’s O ce)
justice involvement is necessary to ensure that the young people in our communities grow into productive young adults, free from system involvement,” said Henry Gonzales, executive director of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, in a statement.
Houston approves 2022 23 budget
Noise ordinance amended amid resident complaints
KEY CHANGES
Houston City Council approved a slate of changes to the city’s noise ordinance in May.
BY SOFIA GONZALEZ
Increases maximum ne from $1,000 to $2,000 Requires permit to be issued to an establishment rather than an individual Codi es hearing process for permit revocation
HOUSTON After hours of discus- sion, Houston City Council approved a $5.71 billion budget for scal year 2022-23 during a June 1 meeting. The budget includes an increase of $487 million in expenditures from the last year. Houston Mayor Sylves- ter Turner said $364 million of the increase is due to enterprise funds for drinking water and consent decree. Fire ghters will receive a 6% pay increase; police o cers will receive a 4% increase; and municipal employ- ees will receive a 3% increase. The budget also includes an investment in underresourced neighborhoods.
BY SOFIA GONZALEZ
HOUSTON Several amendments to Houston’s noise ordinance were approved May 4 by Houston City Council with the goal of improving quality of life for residents while being fair to business owners. The amendments include increasing the maximum ne for noise from $1,000 to $2,000, revis- ing a requirement that a permit is issued to an establishment rather than an individual, codifying the hearing process for the revoca- tion of a permit and creating a
Creates commercial establishment sound permit
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
commercial establishment permit. The changes will go into e ect in September.
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • JUNE 2022
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