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About this visual Did the Deficit Disappear?

The budget passed with no property tax increase — but the shortfall didn't vanish. It moved onto the water/sewer utility and a new fee on ~400,000 households, while the five-year forecast still shows gaps. Residents deserve the mechanics, not just the headline.

Body / subject: Did the Deficit Disappear?

Data / source: City of Houston FY2027 Budget (Proposed/Adopted)

First published: date not yet reconciled · Updated Jun 16, 2026

FY18 confirmed from Open Data Houston XLSX; FY27 department line items from the FY2027 Proposed Budget XLSX (adopted ≈ proposed; city line-item adopted doc pending as of June 16, 2026); intervening years interpolated from CAFR/news and marked as estimates. 'Total General Fund' counts debt service and the internal right-of-way gross-up (~$3.43B); the as-reported operating General Fund is ~$3.16B (+5.4%).

Read the explanation
HTX Budget by Local Insights
FY27 Department Overview

Police. Fire. Solid Waste. Public Works. Mayor's Office.

FY27 budget · estimated FTEs · five-year trend with per-capita and per-FTE breakdowns. Then scroll down to compare any two years side by side.

Department detail at proposed levels — adopted ≈ proposed; city line-item adopted doc pending.

↓ Select any two years below to compare department-by-department
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Houston Budget Explorer — FY18 to FY27

Where Does Houston's $3.4 Billion
General Fund Actually Go?

FY27 adopted by City Council June 10, 2026 (15–1)
Year A Total GF
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—
Year B Total GF
—
—
Change
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—
Police + Fire (Year B)
—
of total GF
Solid Waste (Year B)
—
of total GF

General Fund Trend — FY18 to FY27

Total general fund expenditures by year. Police + Fire shown separately.

Department Spending Comparison

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Public Safety
Finance/Debt
Administration
Services
Infrastructure
New Revenue

What Got Cut to Pay for What?

Year-over-year changes between selected years
Data: FY18 confirmed from Open Data Houston XLSX. FY26 police/fire confirmed from Houston Public Media. FY27 figures reflect the budget adopted by City Council June 10, 2026 (15–1, no property tax increase); department line items from the FY2027 Proposed Budget XLSX (adopted ≈ proposed; city line-item adopted doc pending): Police $1,218,334,289 · Fire $718,970,217 · Solid Waste $0 (transferred to CUS) · HPW $1,202,224 · Total GF expenditures $3,431,811,504. FY19–FY25 interpolated from news and CAFR reports; marked as estimates. Per-capita uses Census population estimates. Inflation adjustment uses CPI deflator (base year FY18). Data as of June 16, 2026 · FY2027 budget adopted June 10, 2026. Analysis: Local Insights.
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