HOUSTON – Several protestors were asked to leave Houston City Hall during Wednesday’s city council meeting after repeated disturbances.
“People are free to agree or disagree, but disrupting a City Council meeting with banners, threats, and shouting violates City Hall rules,” the city of Houston posted on X.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire even acknowledged the disturbance shortly after several protestors were escorted out by Houston Police.
“It’ll be the lead story tonight,” said Whitmire. “You saw with your own eyes. We couldn’t conduct business for our guests.”
Protestors are upset about the mayor’s $7 billion budget proposal which gives more funding to police, fire and BARC; and makes cuts to other services like parks, health and public works.
We spoke with Becky Selle, one of the activists who was kicked out of the city council meeting.
“We want better drainage. We want to spend our tax dollars on actually taking care of us,” said Selle. “We want to be healthy, that’s all we’re asking."
Dozens of protestors were standing outside city hall and sitting inside the city council room with one message - “Houston says no.”
Doris Brown said her house has been flooded several times over the years.
“The infrastructure here is antiquated and does not work. I have been flooded out more times than I can count," said Brown.
After nearly eight hours of discussions, city council voted to pass the budget proposal, 14 to 3.
City council members discussed a total of 84 amendments to the budget, which included items like investing in the local drainage system, adding more BARC animal enforcement officers and requiring the finance department to provide a monthly overtime usage report.
According to the city, overtime spending was more than double in millions from the budget last fiscal year.
The city said on X:
“Passing the budget is a critical step toward progress for all Houstonians. It includes the largest investment to date in public safety, quality of life, and infrastructure—delivering long-overdue improvements, particularly in underserved neighborhoods across northeast Houston."
The controller’s office has confirmed that the budget was certified.
