Houston Human Resources proposes $536.5 million FY26 budget; highlights retirements, consolidation and training

The Houston Human Resources Department presented a proposed $536.5 million budget for fiscal 2026 at the Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting, outlining consolidations, savings from a voluntary retirement program, and investments in citywide training and recruitment, Director Jane Cheeks said.

Cheeks said the proposed HR budget covers seven programs across five funds, with the health benefit fund comprising 82% of HR's total spending. "We are proposing a budget of $536,500,000," CFO Carla Coleman told the committee, adding that the proposed increase reflects consolidation and anticipated claim and premium costs.

The budget presentation emphasized three themes: service consolidation, operational efficiencies and workforce development. Cheeks described recent consolidations that move occupational safety and several departmental HR functions under the HR umbrella, including employee services from the Houston Police Department, and learning and development functions from Houston Public Works and other departments. She said the consolidation increases HR's span of control metrics and aims to standardize practices across departments.

Cheoles (sic) — Jane Cheeks — outlined changes to HR program structure and performance metrics. The department plans to reduce a prior set of 19 performance measures to seven outcome-based measures and to centralize training under a new Office of Talent and Organizational Development led by Dr. Crystal Besseck. Cheeks said the office will focus on supervisor and manager training and on creating citywide learning standards.

The voluntary retirement initiative and other savings contributed to the budget calculations. According to Cheeks, 85 employees were eligible for a retirement incentive; staff discussed that 23 positions were part of the mayor's incentive pool and that 21 participants ultimately took the retirement option, with two critical vacancies retained (the citywide ADA coordinator and an HR manager for benefits). Cheeks said HR kept both critical vacancies "so they would be able to govern administrative duties in benefits."

Cheeks and Coleman described program-level changes and figures: the central service revolving fund will continue to house HR client services, contingent workforce services and talent development programs; the contingent workforce program was reduced by $2.3 million, and the talent and organizational development program increased by roughly $2.2 million largely to cover consolidation and lease/moving costs as HR seeks a new training site after vacating the EBK Center.

On workforce programs, Cheeks said the summer jobs program retains the same total budget but raised base pay from $13 to $14 per hour, reducing the number of interns from 382 to 362. She also announced a city-run GED program with an introductory class of 18 participants, "mostly the parks department and solid waste," intended to provide career advancement opportunities for employees.

CFO Coleman outlined that the health benefit fund drives most HR spending, with personnel costs only 1% of that fund and most resources directed to claims and plan management. She noted planned increases for Medicare Advantage and other supplemental plans and said the city and departments have shared cost increases to keep subscriber rates flat for five years; department rates were set to increase 1.9% this year, she said.

Committee members pressed HR staff for more data. Councilmember Kamen asked whether HR could provide counts for personnel funded by federal or other grants; Cheeks said HR would need to partner with Finance to obtain that number. Kamen and others also asked for FY25 baseline numbers for the department's new outcome metrics; Cheeks agreed to provide prior-year retention and hiring-stage comparisons. When asked to clarify the hiring-stage target, Cheeks said the department is aiming to complete 80% of hiring stages within 15 days.

Council members also asked about disability hiring and the city's use of incentives to employ people with disabilities. Cheeks said HR has increased collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Disabilities under Director Ponce and that staff will pursue incentives and programs going forward, though an exact count of employees with disabilities was not available at the meeting.

On technology, Cheeks said HR is evaluating AI and other hiring tools and noted that some interviews are conducted through the platform Spark Hire; she said HR has not deployed AI-based tools yet and will coordinate parameters with the city's HIT team before using such systems.

The presentation concluded with staff volunteering to provide requested breakdowns — including an intern-by-department list, FY25 metric baselines, and data on grant-funded positions — and the committee moved on to the next agenda item.

Ending: Staff committed to returning follow-up data through SharePoint and future committee materials; no formal votes were taken during the HR presentation.