Houston Economic Development Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
Houston Economic Development Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
The Economic Development Committee of the Houston City Council, chaired by Mayor Pro Tem Castex Tatum, met on July 15, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 2:49 p.m. The meeting featured presentations on the fiscal year 2027 Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) budget schedules and proposed TIRZ project plan amendments. No public speakers testified. Key discussions centered on the municipal services fee (MSF) and the inclusion of Harris County as a participating taxing unit in multiple TIRZs.
Presentation on FY2027 TIRZ Budget Schedules
- Jennifer Curley, Assistant Director of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, presented the proposed TIRZ budget schedules. The total FY2027 budget across all 27 active TIRZs is approximately $334 million, primarily allocated to street projects, pedestrian infrastructure, parks, and flood remediation. The combined five-year project costs total $1.4 billion.
- Curley outlined the project development process, from approval of the project plan and financing plan to design, bidding, construction, and conveyance back to the city.
- Councilmember Alcorn inquired about potential annexations or boundary expansions, noting rumors about the Downtown TIRZ absorbing areas from the Fourth Ward. Curley referred to Andrew Busker for details.
- Councilmember Ramirez questioned the schedule's aggressiveness compared to the previous year. Curley explained that most budgets are similar to FY2026, reducing the need for delays, and noted that last year's delays were due to incorporating new sidewalk projects and adjusting the municipal services fee.
- A lengthy discussion ensued on the municipal services fee (MSF). Councilmember Alcorn expressed concern that the fee is based on what TIRZs can afford rather than actual service costs, potentially penalizing cash-rich TIRZs and rewarding those with debt. She suggested a dedicated committee meeting to address the issue.
- Councilmember Ramirez argued that the MSF should reflect current valuations (not 2021 levels) to avoid subsidizing TIRZ residents by non-TIRZ taxpayers. He noted that TIRZ areas benefit from both better infrastructure (as stated by Andrew Busker in a prior meeting) and lower service fees. Curley responded that the MSF is calculated based on a 30-year average growth rate of general fund expenditures (approximately 4.5%) and that the city also considers sales tax and hotel tax revenue generated by TIRZ redevelopment. She added that new TIRZs generating less than $1 million in increment are exempt from the fee initially to allow them to build capacity.
Presentation on TIRZ Project Plan Amendments
- Andrew Busker, Senior Staff Analyst, presented proposed amendments to the project plans and financing plans of eight TIRZs to reflect Harris County's participation as a new taxing unit. The amendments will update the current plan, project costs, and revenue schedules.
- Busker explained the legal framework under Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code and the city's financial policies. He noted that project plans are the guiding documents for TIRZ activities and must be amended whenever boundaries, development priorities, or taxing unit participation change.
- The estimated first-year increment from Harris County for these TIRZs ranges from $59,470 (Gulfgate) to $498,283 (Sunnyside), with total projected life-of-zone county contributions of $1.4 million to $14.5 million. The funds will be used for infrastructure, parks, drainage, and mobility projects.
- Councilmember Ramirez asked about non-contiguous annexations. Busker confirmed they are possible and cited Greater Houston TIRZ (TIRZ 24) as an example, where three non-contiguous sections share a common nexus of high-traffic public facilities connected by Metro rail.
- Ramirez also noted that TIRZ six (set to expire in 2027) is a one-off project TIRZ, while others seem more permanent. Busker confirmed that the city must keep total TIRZ taxable value under 25% of the citywide total; currently at 21-22%, leaving room for more.
- A staff member from Councilmember Panzarella's office asked about affordable housing requirements. Busker clarified that TIRZs created by petition must set aside one-third of increment for affordable housing, while others (like Montrose) may include it as a goal in their project plan without a binding requirement. For the Harris County participation, the county's affordable housing department will receive approximately one-third of the county increment for its own projects.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting was informational.
- The proposed FY2027 TIRZ budgets are scheduled to be placed on the City Council agenda beginning August 12, 2026.
- The eight TIRZ project plan amendments will be processed through their respective redevelopment authority boards, followed by city legal review, public hearings, and City Council consideration. Timelines vary, with some boards taking summer breaks.
- The next Economic Development Committee meeting is scheduled for August 19, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Ly 15th, 2026, and the time is 2 p.m. I'm Mayor Pro Tem Castex Tatum, the chair of our economic development committee, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. I do want to welcome the committee and council members, staff, and guests in attendance today. Vice Chair Flickinger is here, Councilmember Ramirez, Councilmember Huffman, Vice Mayor Pro Tim Peck is here. We do have staff from Councilmember Castillo's office, staff from Councilmember Salinas' office, staff from Councilmember Martinez's office, staff from Councilmember Carter's office, and also staff from Councilmember Panzarella's office. This meeting is open to the public. It's being held in person and virtually. We're also broadcasting live on HTV. Council members, if you're attending virtually, you can of course use the chat pod to communicate. Vice Chair Flickinger, do you have any remarks you'd like to make as we begin? No, ma'am. Thank you. There are two members of the public who have signed up to speak today. One member has communicated that she will not be present. If there are any additional public speakers present in chamber that would like to speak, there is a sign-up sheet at the front table to your right. Public speakers will have a chance to speak at the conclusion of the presentation. Any questions can also be mailed to the district K office at District K at Houston TX.gov and we'll reform we will forward those to the respective departments for responses. First on our agenda today, we have Jennifer Curley, who is our assistant director with the mayor's Office of Economic Development here with us in chamber, and she will present on fiscal year 2027 tax increment reinvestment zone budget schedules. Ms. Curley, thank you for being here, and we are ready to hear from you. Thank you so much for having me today. A little bit of time with you to let you know that the TERS 2027 budget will be placed on council's agenda beginning on August 12th. Next slide, please. As you're aware, tax increment reinvestment zones are authorized by Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code. TERS were created by the city to encourage the redevelopment of underdeveloped and or undeveloped commercial areas by attracting private investment. The city has 27 active TURS. Our current increment partners are Harris County, Houston ISD, Spring ISD, Aldean ISD, Houston Community College, and Lone Star College. City Council in the last couple of weeks just approved the interlocal agreements between the city, Harris County, and the Gulfgate, Greens Point, Hardy, Midtown, OST, and Sunnyside TURS. So all in all, Harris County participates in St. George Place, Midtown, Downtown, OST, Greens Point, East Downtown, Uptown, Southwest Houston, Hardy, Harrisburg, Greater Houston, and Sunnyside, Tursas. This will allow this participation by the county, will allow more funding for projects in these geographies and increase funding for the city's homeless housing fund. Next slide, please. So this slide reflects the steps in project development as just a reminder to council how the projects typically work. All projects, of course, begin with the approval of the project plan and reinvestments on financing plan by city council. These plans are required by Chapter 311, and they include broad categories of projects that the zone board will allocate funding to address issues that impair development or redevelopment in an area. So when you're taking a look at the project plan, that's where the ability to do affordable housing or drainage or sidewalks. So typically one that we won't see that often is affordable housing in a project plan for a TERS that is a non-petition TER. So TERS that are created by petition are have to set aside one-third of their increment for affordable housing. And so they always have affordable housing in their project plans. But TERS that were not created by petition, they don't typically have affordable housing in their project plan. But if they wanted to do affordable housing, it would have to be in their project plan to do it. Once the project plan is approved, um specific project development begins through a collaborative collaboration with the city and the TURS and RDA. So for example, just recently, as you all are aware, Medical Center Area TURS is a brand new TURS, and so what they did was they met with the city, Houston Public Works, and talked about what the city's priorities are. Then they went and talked with the medical center and then they talked with Herman Park so they can kind of get a laundry list of projects that they need to do in that particular area. So what happens is now they're developing their CIP and looking at which projects they can fund with the revenue that is coming with in with the TURS. So once that is all done, they're preparing their budget and proving that budget at the board level to submit to city council. So then once we receive the their budget, what we do is circulate that budget with um Houston Public Works, because they're now looking at the specific projects that have come out of the discussions, along with the mayor's um chief policy offer officer to take a look and brief those two areas about what projects they intend to do in the coming fiscal year. And so once that particular process is complete, we prepare the budgets for city council council's agenda, and through that process, we will start um we will start reaching out to the city council offices to see if the council members would like to have a briefing on the budget. And so once that particular process is done, then you will see the budget on city council's agenda. After that particular piece, the council approves the budget, then the real I wouldn't say the real work begins, but the once once city council approves that budget for that particular for the projects, then the board of the TURS redevelopment authority begins pursuing that particular project.
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