HOUSTON – At Air Alliance Houston, we believe that clean air is not a privilege—it is a basic human right. And right now, that right is under attack.

Mayor Whitmire’s proposed budget represents a dangerous shift in our city’s values—prioritizing policing and punishment while cutting essential public health and community services. It is a budget that divests from care, safety, and environmental justice in favor of a narrow definition of “public safety” that fails to protect the health of our communities.

Let’s be clear: cutting more than $2 million from the Houston Health Department is not just fiscally irresponsible—it’s a moral failure.

And while life-saving programs hang in the balance, the city is pouring extraordinary resources into law enforcement. According to the proposed budget:

• The Houston Police Department alone receives more than $1 billion from the city’s $3.1 billion general fund—making it the single largest line item in the entire budget.
• A new agreement to raise officer pay by 36.5% over five years will cost $832 million, including $67 million next year alone.
• Public safety spending—including police and fire—would account for nearly 60% of the entire general fund in fiscal year 2026, up from 55% in 2025.

Meanwhile, critical departments, in addition to the health department, also face deep cuts:

• More than $4 million from Parks and Recreation
• $2.9 million from General Services
• Nearly $2 million from Libraries
• More than $7 million from Neighborhood Services
• And a projected deficit of up to $134 million in the general fund

This budget doesn’t reflect fiscal prudence—it reflects skewed priorities. And our communities will pay the price.

We don’t yet know the full scope of health department programs being targeted, but we know what’s at risk:

• Programs that prevent childhood asthma and help families manage respiratory illness
• Environmental inspections that protect homes and public spaces from contamination
• Air monitoring and education that equip people with life-saving information about local pollution levels

These are not luxuries. These are basic services that keep people alive—especially in a city where Black, Brown, immigrant, and working-class communities already suffer the most from pollution-related illnesses.

Let’s not forget: Houston received an “F” for ozone and for Particulate Matter pollution in the American Lung Association’s 2025 State of the Air report. That failing grade is not an abstraction—it’s asthma attacks, ER visits, and shortened life expectancy for our most vulnerable residents.

And now, instead of investing in solutions, the city is walking away.

At the same time, federal cuts have stripped another $100 million in environmental protection funding from our region, leaving local governments and non-profit organizations to fill the gap. This should be the moment we double down on public health, not abandon it.

Mayor Whitmire’s budget is not just a spreadsheet. It is a reflection of what—and who—our city chooses to value.

We at Air Alliance Houston stand firmly with frontline communities, public health workers, and our partner organizations across the city in demanding better. We demand a budget that centers care, equity, and community resilience—not fear and force.

We will not stand by while our health is sacrificed for political expediency.

We will not be silent as our neighborhoods are left to fend for themselves in the face of climate threats, air pollution, and systemic neglect.

We call on the Mayor and City Council to reject these cuts, reinstate full funding for the Houston Health Department, and build a budget that invests in the people who make Houston strong—not just the institutions that police them.

About Air Alliance Houston 

Air Alliance Houston is a non-profit advocacy organization working to reduce the public health impacts from air pollution and advance environmental justice through applied research, education, and advocacy. For more information and resources, please visit www.airalliancehouston.org.