Total 2022 property tax increment redirected to TIRZs (most recent Texas Comptroller filing)
77%
Captured by the 10 highest-income TIRZs ($202M). The 3 lowest-income TIRZs got 1.8% ($5M).
$58.3M
Captured by the Uptown TIRZ (Galleria) alone — 22.2% of all Houston TIRZ revenue in a single zone
3
Above-median TIRZs scheduled to expire 2027–2029. Each is a Council decision: redirect or re-extend.
What this means for your household
A TIRZ freezes the property tax base in an area. Any tax growth above that frozen base is rebated to the TIRZ — not flowed into the General Fund that funds citywide services.
Your property taxes are funding wealthy neighborhood improvements in Uptown, Memorial City, and Upper Kirby — instead of citywide libraries, parks, and infrastructure.
Three TIRZs expire soon: Eastside (FY27), Old Sixth Ward (FY28), Memorial City (FY29). If they're sunsetted, that tax base returns to the General Fund.
Bill King flagged this as a structural reform: ~$200M/year diverted to TIRZs largely serving wealthy neighborhoods. Sunsetting just one or two would meaningfully change the deficit math.
“
When we vote for TIRZs, that is what we're voting for. We're voting for a pattern of expenditures which is very regressive. The city's tax base is being cannibalized.
— John Diamond, Director, Baker Institute Center for Public Finance (Rice University)
What you can do
1
Demand the TIRZ audit results
City Council authorized audits of ALL Houston TIRZs in October 2024 after the Midtown scandal. Where are the results? Will they be public before the June 10 vote?
2
Push to sunset expiring TIRZs
Eastside (2027), Old Sixth Ward (2028), Memorial City (2029) — each is a council decision. Default to re-extension unless residents demand otherwise.
3
Track the FY26–FY30 TIRZ capital plans
Upper Kirby just got $125M FY26–FY30 approved. Memorial Heights got $128.4M. Compare to the capital plans for Sunnyside, Leland Woods, or Fifth Ward.
Sources: Baker Institute Center for Public Finance (Nov 2024); Texas Comptroller Ch. 311 TIRZ Annual Reports; City of Houston FY26 Vol XII; Bill King Chronicle (May 8).