Lawsuit filed against Houston mayor and city council over drainage fees

A lawsuit has been filed in Houston District Court alleging Mayor Sylvester Turner and members of the Houston City Council illegally diverted funds away from programs meant to fix Houston's streets and drainage systems.

The lawsuit filed by engineer Bob Jones the mayor and city council violated Proposition A, a law passed in 2018 that funnels tax money to the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund.

"Houstonians spoke loud and clear just one year ago when they voted to create a fund to fix our streets and drainage," said Jones. "The budget recently passed by the City of Houston ignores the will of the people and violates the law by diverting tax dollars dedicated to streets and drainage to other purposes."

Mayor Turner's political rival Mayoral Candidate Tony Buzbee is weighing in on this lawsuit saying, "The drainage fee should be spent on drainage!" 

The mayor's office released the following statement in response to this lawsuit:

Read the full lawsuit below: