Houston Forensic Science Center Board Meeting - July 10, 2026
Houston Forensic Science Center Board Meeting - July 10, 2026
The board convened with a quorum, chaired by Ellen Cohn. The meeting covered the FY2027 budget, corporate goals, an interlocal agreement for firearms outsourcing, budget reallocations, and quality updates. Several votes were taken and all passed unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the May 8, 2026 board meeting minutes was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously via voice vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak; the public comment period was closed.
Discussion Items
- Chair's Report: Chairperson Cohn thanked Mayor Whitmeyer and City Council for approving a 7% budget increase for FY2027, noting it is less than requested but appreciated. She also mentioned a tour of the HPD property room in transition to HFSC management.
- Corporate Goals and Objectives for FY2027 (Dr. Stout): Dr. Stout presented three main organizational focuses: 1) Reengineering performance evaluations with a flat increase for staff, 2) Maintaining casework productivity and quality, and 3) Continuing work on the statewide discovery portal (CLR) in response to the Ex parte Cologne case. He also provided updates on backlogs in biology, firearms, and seized drugs; production changes (3D crime scene mapping, rapid DNA for reference swabs, Y-STRs, audio processing); and budget constraints.
- Budget Presentation (David Leach, CFO): Leach presented the FY2026 year-end reallocation (net zero) and the revised FY2027 budget. The city approved $2.4 million (7%) increase versus the requested $3.9 million (11%), a $1.5 million shortfall. He highlighted the tight financial situation with only $354,000 in cash reserves, no excess funds, and risks from health insurance and IT cost increases. He noted the need for careful management and potential mid-year adjustments.
- Interlocal Agreement with Tarrant County: A renewal for firearms evidence comparison services (budget not to exceed $100,000) was discussed. Dr. Stout noted Tarrant County is the only available outsourcing source for firearms. The agreement was approved unanimously.
- Quality Updates (Jackie Morel): Morel announced accreditation for rapid DNA (reference samples) effective June 9, 2026. She summarized internal audit results: 7 nonconformances and 14 opportunities for improvement, with themes around reagent labeling and evidence labeling. Upcoming ANAB reassessment scheduled for August 31 to September 3, 2026, was discussed. She also described quality monitoring programs including blind proficiency testing, court testimony monitoring, and postmortem reviews.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Minutes: Motion carried unanimously.
- Approval of Corporate Goals: Motion to accept Dr. Stout's proposed corporate priorities and goals for FY2027 carried unanimously.
- Approval of Interlocal Agreement with Tarrant County: Renewal for firearms evidence comparison services (up to $100,000) approved unanimously. Dr. Stout authorized to execute.
- Approval of FY2026 Budget Reallocation: Net zero reallocation approved unanimously.
- Approval of Revised FY2027 Budget: Revised budget (reflecting 7% increase) approved unanimously. CFO noted likely need for future adjustments.
Additional note: A disclosure was made regarding a gap in raw data from 2014-2015 during the HPD-to-HFSC transition, which was disclosed to the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The board acknowledged the risk of catastrophic equipment failure given the tight budget.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I'm Ellen Cohn, your chairperson. Thank you all for being here. Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll? Yes, Madam Chair. I will begin the roll call now. Chairwoman Cohen. Here. Bye. Chairwoman Baird. Here. Director Vacas. Present. Director Durfee? Here. Director Silverman. Director Corrales? Here. Director Yu. Director Murzah. Director Huff. And Director Gush. Here. And that concludes the roll call. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. With that, let's proceed to agenda item three. First of all, I want to thank those of you that are here for being here because it's uh it's summer, and we have a lot of people traveling. But these meetings are important, and we need to cover quite a bit of business today. We have several very important business matters to discuss on the agenda. The first one is obviously our budget. I want to personally thank Mayor Whitmeyer and Council for their support in approving a seven percent increase to our budget for this year. Having been a council member, I know what goes on in these budget meetings, and I can assure you it's no slam dunk. So the fact that we actually have a 7% increase is really to the credit of everyone on the board and certainly to Peter because they know the kind of work we're doing. So thank you. And although this increase is less than what we approved in March, we understand the tough choices. We still have several challenges to navigate this year. So we look forward to hearing from our staff about how HFSC will tackle the work before us. And lastly, I want to thank everyone who's touring the HPD property room today. How many people do we think we're gonna have touring? Six? Very good. We've been discussing the plan to transition management of that facility to HFSC for many years. Yet most of us have not seen it for ourselves. I know the tour will help us better understand the challenges and opportunities we will encounter. Thank you to the staff members from HFSC and HPD who will lead the tour, and for everyone who's working to make the transition successful. With that, I conclude my report. At this time, we'll open the floor for public comment and invite any member of the public that wishes to speak to come to the podium and address the board. We ask all speakers to sign up in front of the room so we're aware of your presence and that all comments be limited to three minutes. You may speak on any matter concerning the board and HFSC. At this time, do we have anyone in the audience who has signed up for public comment?
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