Update in Mayoral race: Response to 5 point plan
Tag Archives: Mayor Parker
Mayor Parker signs Executive Order for Foreign Language Access
Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country that houses thousands of foreign citizens and does about $274 billion in foreign trade annually. On July 31, 2013, Mayor Annise Parker signed an executive order for the city to develop a language access plan for five different languages.
The executive order will be used to breakdown a language barrier that prevents many Houstonians that do not speak English from getting the services they need and to help them receive the essential information they need to survive in such a large city.
“This is not about going around re-doing signs around the city,” said Parker. “This is about different populations having access to information.”
The languages have not yet been chosen but they will look at large populations like the South Asian community that comprises of Indians, Pakistani, and Hindi.
The translations are critical especially during the hurricane seasons where danger can happen within a 24 hour span and communication is vital. There are over a 100 different languages spoken in Houston.
For the next six months research will ensue to identify the point of contacts that will do the translating and communicate with the target communities. The Office of International Communities (OIC), a division of the Department of Neighborhoods will spearhead this project and they have six months to come up with the language plan.
“It will be simple information such as how to pay a ticket, how to use the municipal courts or how to report an incident with the police,” said Mayor Parker.
The goal is to make city services more accessible and give the international community an easier way to connect to the community.
“The OIC will conduct a data-driven language needs assessment, work closely with the City departments, international community leaders and university- based experts to identify the five languages that will be adopted into the plan,” said the OIC representatives.
Mayor Parker sees this as a big move for Houston as it stakes its claim as a premiere international city.
City of Houston helps train communities in bystander CPR
The Houston Department of Health and Human Services and the local chapter of the American Heart Association along with Rice University teamed up to do research about the air quality and cardiac arrest in Houston and found a bigger issue of Houstonians failing to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a bystanders in predominately African American communities in Houston.
Mayor Parker introduced Dr. David Persse, EMS director and the health authority for the city’s Department of Health and Human Services, and his team as she spoke about the collaboration between the city and the American Heart Association to do neighborhood sessions to teach CPR to the communities that their research has told them is at higher risk for cardiac arrest without the help of bystander CPR.
“It’s hard to see someone suffering and you don’t know what to do. Each of us has the ability with our own hands to save lives. Houston has an outstanding EMS system and been on the cutting edge of research with our public EMS system,” said Parker. “Recently the public health authority, Dr. David Persse and statisticians from Rice University examined health outcome data that’s related to Houston’s air quality. We noticed an unequal distribution of cardiac arrest and with further evaluation we also noted a disparity in bystander CPR.”
The disparity was found in Sunnyside, South Park, Riverside, Magnolia, Denver Harbor, 5th Ward and Acres Homes. Since June there has been 4,520 people trained in those neighborhoods on how to do bystander CPR.
“Due to the work of our emergency responders the local cardiac arrest survival rates are the best among the nation however the chances of survival are even better when a bystander can step in with CPR in those critical moments before emergency help arrives,” said Persse. “The Houston Health Department has initiated a partnership with the American Heart Association to provide hands only CPR training specifically in high risk neighborhoods that they identified.”
With CPR being reintroduced without the mouth to mouth component it should appeal to a much larger base. The lack of knowledge about cardiac arrest and the benefits of CPR have resulted in loss of life to many although Houston has one of the best rates in the country for surviving cardiac problems.
“There are certain things that make people hesitant to do bystander CPR like for instance we have taken out the mouth to mouth part because for many years people were afraid to do mouth to mouth and that’s no longer a part of CPR and people need to know that,” said Persse. “Its hands only CPR and actually its very easily done and not terribly strenuous but it is the bridge between when somebody collapses and when professional rescuers get there and we also know from our data that when someone performs bystander CPR it more than doubles that persons chance of survival.
The place that cardiac arrest happen the most are at home around family which is why it is an incentive that people learn CPR to save family. There have been thousands trained in the city and it is simple enough for a child to learn how to do.
Donna Travis, division manager of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services started the outreach education of CPR from the beginning. Her hopes is to continue the neighborhood training and encourages Houstonians to participate in individual sessions or organizations or churches can join in a partnership to teach and train individuals in CPR to save lives and communities.
Travis or anyone on her team can be reached at 713-527-4000 for any information.
Mayor Parker announces 2014 city budget
Myra Griffin
The Houston Sun
Mayor Annise Parker released the 2014 proposed $4.9 billion budget for the city of Houston on May 14, 2013 that will go into effect on July 1, 2013. Mayor Parker continues her emphasis on jobs and development, public safety, quality of life, infrastructure and fiscal responsibility as she maintains that the budget will not require a tax increase.
The budget has made provisions to finish restoring the services that were cut or rolled back due to the economic issues of the city. The city has also completely funded their Rainy Day Fund which is $20 million strong with a 7.5% allocated reserve which is above the 5% mandated amount, and pensions, health benefits and mandated pay increases for city employees are included as well.
“This budget proposal builds upon the progress of the last 3.5 years,” said Mayor Parker. “We’ve cut waste, made city departments more efficient and balanced every budget without raising taxes.”
Jobs growth is a national issue that always hits home first and Mayor Parker continues to work at providing employment opportunities for Houstonians as she will stay connected with Hire Houston First. According to city data, within the programs first year more than $139 million of city business was awarded to certified firms, sustaining more than 6,000 jobs. The city has attracted more than $2.2 billion of economic development since 2010, generated 250,000 jobs, exported approximately $300 billion in locally-produced goods and services and has issued permits for construction on nearly 74,000 single family homes.
Majority of the money looks to be heading towards public safety as the report shows that’s where two- thirds of the general fund budget will go.
“More than $2.2 million is included in this budget proposal to fund operations of the city’s new public safety radio project, which is improving the city’s capability to communicate with Harris County and surrounding jurisdictions when fighting crime or responding to natural disaster,” said the Mayor’s office.
Public Safety will include the creation of a Forensics Transition Special Fund to keep separate and account for the costs with the Houston Forensics Science LGC which has been under scrutiny for years about its methods and outcomes. This venture will help with the effort to establish an independent crime lab, and will push forward with the elimination of the DNA backlog. The city also will proceed to do more demolitions of dangerous buildings.
The city has added a General Fund line for the first time for infrastructure and the amount is $2.5 million which is representing approximately 2% average annual Capital Improvement Plan for Public Improvement Programs for infrastructure maintenance, renewal and replacement. The city has already invested $180 million has already been invested in drainage and street improvements. In the fiscal year 2014 additional progress on replacement f city information technology and fleet infrastructure which has been underfunded for years.
“These dollars will be used for upkeep to existing city facilities, such as libraries, community centers and neighborhood fire stations, to help avoid the deferred maintenance issues identified in the recent facilities assessment,” said the Mayor’s Office.
The quality of life for Houstonians remains a hot button issue and Mayor Parker in her efforts to clean up the city while going green, has doubled the houses that use single- stream recycling from 100,000 to 200,000. The first part of the expansion will start in July when 35,000 households will be added and then another 70,000 will be added later in the year. The stream recycling will be easier and convenient as all recyclables will go in one big bin. Mayor Parker emphasized the high priority for the planet but it will also be a long term financial investment and it will help preserve the landfills.
“The expansion will impact neighborhoods citywide rather than be limited to one specific area of town,” said Mayor Parker.
The city also prepares for the completion of the new adoption center, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Control will include an increase in funding for $693,683. There will be progress made on the Bayou Greenways that will link parks and trails throughout the city and the budget will also include revenue for the Mayor’s initiative to end chronic homelessness in the city which has cost the city over a million dollars in the past.
Fiscal responsibility for the city remains on the minds of Houstonians as it affects the quality of the life they live within the city. The city is making the steps to have more transparency with their finances. They have included $676,000 for financial controls and audit capabilities.
“I feel like I spent my first term in office plugging holes in a leaky boat, but the boat stayed afloat and now we have the funds to take the boat and put up a new sail and I’m very excited about this,” said Mayor Parker.
The mayor’s financial plan is set and will begin in the middle of the summer. The Capital Improvement Plan for the fiscal years of 2014 through 2018 will coincide with the proposed budget and will have the same emphasis with infrastructure and public safety.