Herbert Sims, director (introduced by the councilman) said the city realigned residential code‑enforcement programs formerly in the Department of Neighborhoods into Houston Public Works as part of operational changes following an Ernst & Young study and departmental reorganizations.

Sims said the programs now administered by Public Works include residential code enforcement for dangerous buildings, open storage, junk motor vehicles and nuisance properties, and that those services are integrated with the Houston Permitting Center to consolidate enforcement and revenue sources. He urged residents with code‑enforcement concerns to call 311 or to use engagehouston.org, which the Public Works engineering and construction team described as a public engagement portal listing active capital projects, project pages, budgets and recorded virtual community meetings.

Sims and Public Works staff said the Department of Neighborhoods still operates a number of programs and offices, including the mayor’s assistance office, Office for People with Disabilities, the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs, gang‑prevention case management and a human‑trafficking response program that currently has limited staffing. He said some services moved organizationally to Public Works for operational fit and to align revenue sources with program activities; he denied published reports that the department was wholly cut, clarifying the change was a reallocation of functions.

Public Works staff also explained ways residents can report infrastructure needs and view capital projects online via engagehouston.org, and provided an email contact (engage@houstontx.org) and an instruction that project-team responses typically arrive within three business days.

No immediate formal policy change or new ordinance was announced at the town hall; the presenters described organizational and operational shifts already implemented or in process.