In less than a year, the City of Houston will welcome fans and players to the seven FIFA World Cup games at NRG Stadium. Our community recently hosted a celebration to tell the world we are ready: from the countdown clock at our big airport to preparations for Fan Fest and showing the world our unique culture, food and neighborhoods.
We believe that more than 500,000 fans will visit Houston for the World Cup,and they could spend an estimated $1.5 billion. Stay tuned for more information and how you can get involved and enjoy the excitement.
New Fiscal Year Begins
July 1, 2025, marked the beginning of the new fiscal year and a turning point for the City of Houston.
The City Council recently passed my Fiscal Year 2026 budget that eliminated duplication, waste, and conflicts of interest at City Hall—just as I promised.
It invests more money in public safety, streets and drainage while reducing spending. We are not cutting back on core services. We continue to focus on quality-of-life issues that make Houston a great city.
We are structurally fixing our finances for the long term.We are consolidating back-office services, including HR, Procurement, IT, and Finance, into a modern, shared-services model—more responsive and far more efficient.
Public safety remains my top priority. This budget funds the first year of a new police contract that makes Houston competitive with other major Texas cities. It helps us recruit and retain officers to patrol our streets, solve crimes, and bring justice to victims.
We also continue our investment in the Houston Fire Department. The new firefighter contract is working. HFD now has its longest-ever waiting list of candidates ready to serve as firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics.
We are reshaping our workforce with respect and dignity. More than 35% of eligible civilian employees participated in a voluntary retirement incentive, exceeding 1,000. Morale is improving. Employees know the mission matters.
For the first time in decades, Houston has a clear path to a structurally balanced budget. This budget sets the city on a path to live within its means, but it isn’t the government I think Houston deserves. I look forward to continuing the conversation over the next year about ways we can have the government reflect the best part of Houston: its people.
We spent the past year preparing for this moment—an opportunity to reset how City Hall works for the people of Houston.
We conducted the most comprehensive review of City government in decades with the Citywide Efficiency Study. It is online for all Houstonians to see.
I look forward to working with you and communities across Houston. Let’s go to work.