Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said over the weekend that he would like to see the state's rainy day fund used to help with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Houston.
Over the weekend, Turner told the Texas Tribune that he would like to see a portion of Texas' $10 billion rainy day fund for Hurricane Harvey relief. Turner said that while he is currently supporting a city-wide tax increase to fund recovery, he would not propose the increase if Governor Greg Abbott would agree to tapping the fund for hurricane relief.
The Texas Tribune reports that Abbott said that a portion of the fund will be used for hurricane recovery, however it is not clear what amount will be withdrawn from the fund to fund relief efforts.
State Senator Paul Bettencourt spoke to the Houston City Council last night and suggested that the Council cut funds from the special taxing districts within the City of Houston to fund the hurricane relief. Bettencourt also said that the State had already provided Houston with $100 million in recovery funds. Turner responded to Bettecourt's statement with disagreement, saying that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had provided the money to Houston.
Houston's City Council will vote on a tax increase next month.
