InsideOut
by Annise D. Parker

PRIDE AND MORE

After more than 100 days in office, the controller reports

First and foremost, let me wish everyone a happy Pride Month! I know there are those who complain each year about why we need to celebrate or be proud of being GLBT. Simply put, we aren’t. We aren’t proud of something in our lives that is immutable and indelibly part of who we are. We are celebrating the fact that we are still here and still thriving in the face of insults and assaults, indignities and inequities. We’re alive for one more year. Our lives get better every year, and our worth and dignity as human beings is more affirmed each year. That’s worth celebrating.

Second, let me bid a sorrowful farewell to my friend, trusted advisor, and invaluable political teammate Grant Martin. He and spouse Paul Fromberg have moved to San Francisco. Grant managed my three successful council campaigns, my controller’s campaign, and the heartbreaking Prop. 2 campaign on city domestic partner benefits. He helped elect friends like Ada Edwards and Garnet Coleman and helped my fellow activist Sue Lovell run a strong council campaign. He launched PVA (Progressive Voters Alliance) from my campaign, and we helped it grow together. He is irreplaceable and will be missed.

Office Update

As I write this, slightly more than 100 days have elapsed since I took office as the new city controller.

Overall, the controller’s fiscal watchdogs are working extremely well as a team to guard taxpayers’ dollars, save money, and maximize the safe investment of public funds.

First, I must commend my 76 staff members for making this job so much easier than it could have been. My three deputy controllers and the city auditor are top-notch professionals who think far outside the bureaucratic box. They lead a capable and hardworking staff.

The treasury division under Jim Moncur continues to shine. Our investments are rated AAAf, and our debt ratings (essentially the city’s credit rating) range from A1 on up.

My auditing division, directed by Steve Schoonover, has found more than $100 million in potential savings in the past five years through unannounced audits. The team recently exposed virtual lack of controls at a health department pharmaceutical warehouse.

Mary Ann Grant keeps the operations and technical services division humming along, producing vendor and payroll checks, checking to ensure we have money to pay for items on the council agenda, responding to open records requests, and archiving city records.

When former controller Judy Gray-Johnson left earlier this year to become finance and administration department director, I was most fortunate to acquire the expertise and leadership of F&A assistant director Susan Bandy. If that name rings a bell, it’s because Susan did such an incredible job on the 2012 Olympic effort. Now she directs the staff that produces the monthly financial and operating reports as well as the annual financial report. (Find out more about my team by visiting my web page.)

Mayoral Marvel

Despite a (remarkably) few political missteps with council members and some serious anxiety over city pension underfunding, Mayor Bill White's honeymoon continues with much of the public.

The midnight oil (or an alternative fuel) burns at City Hall, and it’s casting light on a range of issues this hands-on mayor is determined to tackle. The pace of change and improvement is impressive.

Performance Audits

I was pleasantly reminded about one of my top priorities this morning when council member Shelly Sekula-Gibbs brought up the fact that last year council passed my motion requesting a charter amendment to allow the controller to conduct performance audits.

She wondered what difference it might have made if my office had been allowed to conduct a performance audit of the municipal pension system and noted that council needs this kind of help scrutinizing city departments.

Previous mayors have fought acknowledging that the controller has this authority. But at the request of Mayor White, my office conducted an unprecedented performance audit of city and Metro street and bridge construction contractors. Although the controller’s audit division conducts financial, inventory, and contract compliance audits, it has rarely conducted audits in which we evaluate whether or not performance goals are reached. Interestingly, we found that most of the project overruns were caused by unforeseen conditions or inadequate design work, not the contractors. We also discovered that the records in public works for the period examined were so inadequate that they could not have been effectively used to establish contractor accountability. (The full audit report is available through my web page.)

Pension Board

The reception has been quite positive to my suggestion that the controller or my representative serve on the pension board. I think most people understand this would be a logical extension of my role as the city’s chief fiscal watchdog.

Money Matters TV Show

The June controller’s office show will examine the fiscal year 2005 budget presented to City Council in mid-May. Money Matters can be seen at 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Mondays on the Municipal Channel (Warner Cable 16, Kingwood 14, TCI 16, Phonoscope 2, and TvMax 20.)

Annise Parker is city controller and the highest-ranking openly GLBT-elected official in any of the 10 largest U.S. cities. She has contributed a monthly column to OutSmart since June 2002. The controller’s website is www.ci.houston.tx.us/citygovt/controller. To receive her newsletter, contact controllers@cityofhouston.net.

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