Houston finance officials report conflicting fiscal projections

There is growing disagreement among Houston's top financial officials about the city's finances. City Finance Director Melissa Dubowski and City Controller Chris Hollins have reported different projections to the city council recently. The city controller's office now believes that the city's ending fund balance for this fiscal year will be about $117 million lower than what the finance department predicts. This difference mainly arises from how a $100 million payout for a street and drainage lawsuit is calculated. Some city officials are worried about the low fund balance. They also want to know if the controller's office is conducting enough audits. When asked by city council member Julian Ramirez, Hollins could not provide the exact number of audits done this year. He mentioned that his office has completed only one official audit so far. Hollins said the low number of audits is due to not having enough staff. Even if fully staffed, his audit team would still be the smallest among the top five Texas cities. In response to the concerns, the controller's office announced plans for 37 audits. However, some council members voiced doubts because the plan does not include any timelines for completion.