Houston Public Works lays out $3.2 billion infrastructure budget, new performance measures

Houston Public Works officials on the department's budget presentation to the City Council committee previewed fiscal 2026 priorities, telling council members the department will direct the bulk of its resources to infrastructure projects and new performance measures.

The presentation, delivered by Randy Mackey, Director of Public Works, and Sameer Salanki, Public Works chief financial officer, highlighted about $3.2 billion in infrastructure spending in the fiscal 2026 operating plan and a five‑year capital improvement program totaling roughly $8.3 billion. Mackey said the department is shifting to outcome‑based budgeting and introduced 10 new performance measures intended to track efficiency and delivery.

Mackey and Salanki said the department will prioritize measures that include annual rehabilitation of 3% of the drinking‑water distribution system, replacing about 25,000 water meters per year, completing at least 1,000 lane miles of transportation network work annually, reestablishing 500 miles of roadside ditches and assessing 10% of wastewater lines each year to meet consent‑decree obligations. They noted these metrics are a “work in progress” and that additional performance measures will be developed in workshops with staff.

The presentation also summarized fund‑level changes across Public Works, including operating funds for Houston Water, utility billing (about 488,000 accounts), the Houston Permitting Center, transportation and drainage operations and the combined utility system. Salanki said the FY26 budget assumes a 6% increase in the combined utility system rates per the cost of service study adopted under ordinance 2021515 and noted refinancing and debt management actions that produced present‑value savings.

Council members pressed for clarity on revenue and fund transfers, the use of fund balance, and which programs were driving cost increases. Mackey and Salanki said some line‑item figures in the slide deck contained typographical errors and committed to supplementing the council with corrected performance numbers after the presentation.

In closing, the department emphasized the connection between the new performance measures and the department’s recent efficiency study, which reduced supervisory positions and reorganized service lines to improve “spans of control” and speed of delivery.

Mackey: “We are moving forward to begin rehiring individuals in those critical positions,” while also saying the reorganization will create efficiencies that reduce the need to refill every vacancy.

Public comment that followed the presentation focused heavily on ditch reestablishment and local drainage funding; speakers urged additional DDSRF allocations and greater transparency in project selection.