Tuesday, 24 May 2016 19:00

Highlights from the State of the City address

Written by
During the State of the City address, 10 Public Works & Engineering employees got a standing ovation for their hard work on the mayor's pothole initiative. During the State of the City address, 10 Public Works & Engineering employees got a standing ovation for their hard work on the mayor's pothole initiative.

If you missed the State of the City address, these tweets will bring you back up to speed.

 

Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered his first State of the City address to the Greater Houston Partnership on May 4.

The speech covered a broad range of topics from floods to finance, pensions to potholes and homelessness to hiring Houston’s youth. Turner gave credit where credit is due, calling on several city employees to recognize a job well done.  

The Sate of the City address was  broadcast live by HTV, posted online and covered by local media outlets and Twitter was trending with #StateofHOU. So if you missed the State of the City, here is a highlight reel, brought to you via tweets from Melissa Ragsdale-Darragh, director of social media for the Mayor’s Office of Communications:

HTV: We are live at the State of the City Address. Watch it online at htvhouston.net

Sylvester Turner: 2.5 weeks ago, I planned this speech w/an emphasis on financial health of Houston, but rainfall & flooding had other plans

Turner: Thousands of apartments &homes flooded on April 18, 2016. Some flooded for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time

Turner: We need a person reporting directly to me whose sole responsibility is developing & implementing drainage & flood strategies

Turner: Houston's flood czar is Steven Costello, a civil engineer and former Houston Council member who's worked on numerous drainage projects

Turner: We've moved 400+ people into clean, dignified temporary housing with your support and assisted thousands of others

Turner: As of yesterday, Houston PWE has filled 2,750= potholes reported to 311. 95% of these citizen reported potholes were repaired the next day

Turner: I thank all of you at PWE who've worked to make this a success. Together we can exceed expectations

Turner: I'm proud of OBO and their turnaroundhouston.org resource fairs addressing employment barriers many Houstonians face

Turner: In Jan, we assumed budget shortfall as $126 million, Declining sales tax and tax refunds from commercial appraisal lawsuits, the shortfall grew to $160 million

Turner: We eliminated 54 vacant positions, laying off 40 employees and offering early retirement for up to 100 employees

Good news, Houston library and Parks and Recreation are not affected by reductions. We'll maintain commitment to Rebuild Houston for streets and drainage

Turner: No police of fire will be laid off. There'll also be 5 more cadet classes instead of usual 4

Turner: I appreciate police, city workers and firefighters who know status quo must change and be willing to move from previously non-negotiable positions

Turner: Revenue cap works agains united Houston with opportunity for all and ability to address flooding, transportation and homelessness

Turner: My administration will resist ineffective fixes such as putting homeless in jail

Turner: Lastly, I want to make a personal appeal for your companies to join Hire Houston Youth jobs program and hit our young people

Turner: This is our city, let's protect it. Let's invest in it, and in the process, may God bless us all.

Want to know more? Read the full transcript. 

Read 3472 times
HR Dept

Latest from HR Dept

back to top

Caption Contest: Are you funny?

cc 08 2019fINAL

Show off your wit by entering the COH cartoon caption contest.

Deadline for submissions is October 10.

Follow us on:

icon facebookicon twittericon youtube