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Houston settlement will shift $120 million to drainage and streets; city to seek dismissal
Summary
City officials said a settlement with plaintiffs Bob Jones and Alan Watson will reallocate roughly $120 million toward drainage and streets over coming years, increasing next year's commitment to nearly $500 million; officials said the city will ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit in a few weeks.
City officials announced a settlement with plaintiffs Bob Jones and Alan Watson that will redirect an estimated $120,000,000 toward drainage and streets over the next several years, officials said on the City Pulse broadcast.
The settlement follows a lawsuit by engineers Jones and Watson who argued the city had not directed rebuild-Houston drainage fees to their stated purpose. The broadcast reported the city lost the legal challenge and Mayor John Whitmire negotiated a settlement intended to use drainage fees as plaintiffs and officials said Houstonians intended.
Officials said the reallocation will boost next year's combined drainage and streets commitment to about $500,000,000. Mayor Whitmire acknowledged the budgetary strain created by taking about $120,000,000 out of general operations and said the administration will present a plan to replace that amount in future budgets. The city and plaintiffs are scheduled to return to court in a few weeks to ask a judge to formally dismiss the case.
The broadcast did not provide the terms of the settlement, a schedule for the increases, or the precise mechanics of how the funds will be moved within the city's accounting. The plaintiffs named in the broadcast are identified as engineers Bob Jones and Alan Watson.
