Contract to hire outside law firm for City Hall housing probe will have to wait another week - Houston Chronicle
A contract to hire outside lawyers to lead the city’s probe into allegations that the mayor tried to steer affordable housing funds to a developer will have to wait another week.
District G Councilmember Greg Travis used a procedural motion known as a “tag” to delay a vote on the contract for another week. The contract was on last week’s agenda as well, but the city secretary said it was not received in time for a vote.
Travis did not explain his reasoning for the tag and there was no further discussion of the item Wednesday.
At least one councilmember, Martha Castex-Tatum of District K, publicly has questioned whether the $275,000 contract is necessary since the state General Land Office already is reviewing the matter. The GLO is expected to produce a draft report next week.
The Harris County District Attorney’s office also is investigating.
City Attorney Arturo Michel, who Mayor Sylvester Turner tasked with reviewing the allegations, has arranged to hire Butler Snow to spearhead it. Michel reports directly to the mayor, which raised questions about an internal investigation’s independence.
Turner has promised not to interfere in Michel’s handling of the matter.
Former Housing Director Tom McCasland publicly accused Mayor Sylvester Turner of organizing a “charade” of a competitive process to award Hurricane Harvey affordable housing dollars to a predetermined developer. A co-developer on the mayor’s chosen project, called Huntington at Bay Area, was Barry Barnes, the mayor’s former longtime law partner.
Turner fired McCasland and has denied wrongdoing. He later dropped the deal, saying it had become a distraction for his administration and the city.
The mayor previously argued he pushed for that deal because it was in a relatively wealthy City Council district that has not seen an affordable development in six years. It would have used $15 million in Harvey funds to help finance 88 affordable units, whereas the four selections recommended by McCasland and staff would have used $16.2 million to help finance 362 units.
source: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/housing/article/Contract-to-hire-outside-law-firm-for-City-Hall-16548510.php
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