Houston might need to make some policy changes to ensure that the city has enough money on hand to provide disaster relief as storms become more frequent and more expensive to recover from, Controller Chris Hollins’ office warned Tuesday.
The Bayou City was pummeled by two of the top 10 most expensive storms in history by Hurricane Harvey, which caused $160 billion in 2017, and Ike’s $43 billion of damage in 2008. More recently, Houston had to contend with Hurricane Beryl and a derecho in 2024.
Because the city is spending more money than it is bringing in, the controller’s office warned that leaders may need to consider raising its minimum fund balance, increasing the size of its stabilization fund, dedicating its budget surpluses to the stabilization fund at the end of the year or directing its clawbacks to the stabilization fund, he said…