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DESCRIPTION:With so much focus on financial health\, personal and governmen
t\, we need to understand the decisions that impact our every day life.
Unraveling the complex and often mysterious questions of how our cities...
in this case\, The City of Houston\, gets its money\, where does it go\, h
ow does it fund city services\, pensions\, etc....let's go directly to the
person who understand the flow of finances and has to ask difficult quest
ions of those requesting money. WHAT DOES THE CITY CONTROLLER DO? "The C
ity Controller serves as the City's chief financial officer. The Office of
the City Controller certifies the availability of funds prior to City Cou
ncil approval of City commitments\, processes and monitors disbursements e
xceeding one billion dollars annually\, invests the City's funds\, conduct
s internal audits of the City's departments and federal grant programs\, o
perates and maintains its financial management system\, conducts the sale
of public improvement and revenue bonds and produces a comprehensive annua
l report of City finances (CAFR)" WHO IS OUR CITY CONTROLLER? Chris Hollin
s is a native Houstonian who has served as Houston City Controller since J
anuary 2024. As the independently elected Chief Financial Officer of the
nation’s fourth-largest city\, Controller Hollins provides oversight of
a budget exceeding $6 billion and manages the City’s $6 billion investm
ent and $14 billion debt portfolios. Hollins is deeply committed to tran
sparency\, fiscal responsibility\, and results-driven operations\, using h
is office’s auditing authority to bring new ideas and best practices to
City departments that result in cost savings and a higher standard of serv
ice to Houston residents. Prior to his service as City Controller\, Hol
lins led the 2020 elections effort in Harris County as County Clerk\, gain
ing national acclaim for protecting and expanding voting rights for 2.5 mi
llion Houston-area voters during the most important election of our lifeti
me. Hollins’s innovations – which included drive-thru voting\, 24-hour
voting\, online mail ballot tracking\, and tripling the number of early v
oting centers – led to eye-popping record voter turnout despite the ongo
ing global pandemic. Hollins holds a Bachelor of Arts with Phi Beta Kappa
honors from Morehouse College and completed a joint program with Yale La
w School and Harvard Business School\, earning both his Juris Doctor and M
aster of Business Administration degrees. Hollins is admitted to the Sta
te Bar of Texas and Federal Courts for the Southern District of Texas. Bef
ore being elected Houston City Controller\, he was the Principal Attorney
at Hollins Law Group PLLC. Hollins spent the bulk of his career as a man
agement consultant where he was dedicated to helping large government agen
cies transform their operations to better achieve their missions and meet
the needs of those they were entrusted to serve. Hollins and his wife\,
Morgan\, live in Houston’s Third Ward with their daughter\, Vivian\, and
their son\, George. The Hollins family attends Wheeler Avenue Baptist C
hurch. Join Virtually ---> October 17\, 2024
DTEND:20241017T180000Z
DTSTAMP:20261025T235000Z
DTSTART:20241017T163000Z
LOCATION:Tony’s Restaurant
SEQUENCE:1
SUMMARY:Did someone say Six BILLION dollars?
UID:f24e0047-7252-4208-b8a7-f2649896fb54
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With so much focus on financial
health\, personal and government\, we need to understand the \;decis
ions that impact our every day life. Unraveling the complex and often myst
erious questions of how our cities...in this case\, The City of Houston\,
gets its money\, where does it go\, how does it fund city services\, pensi
ons\, etc....let'\;s go directly to the person who understand the flow
of finances and has to ask difficult questions of those requesting money. \;
\n\nWHAT DOES THE CITY CONTROLLER DO?
\n"
\;The City Controller serves as the City'\;s chief financial officer. T
he Office of the City Controller certifies the availability of funds prior
to City Council approval of City commitments\, processes and monitors dis
bursements exceeding one billion dollars annually\, invests the City'\;
s funds\, conducts internal audits of the City'\;s departments and fede
ral grant programs\, operates and maintains its financial management syste
m\, conducts the sale of public improvement and revenue bonds and produces
a comprehensive annual report of City finances (CAFR)"\;\n\n
WHO IS OUR CITY CONTROLLER
?
\n
\nChris Hollins is a native Houstonian who has ser
ved as Houston City Controller since January 2024. \;As the independently elected Chief Financial Office
r of the nation&rsquo\;s fourth-largest city\, Controller Hollins provides
oversight of a budget exceeding $6 billion and manages the City&rsquo\;s
$6 billion investment and $14 billion debt portfolios. \; Hollins is d
eeply committed to transparency\, fiscal responsibility\, and results-driv
en operations\, using his office&rsquo\;s auditing authority to bring new
ideas and best practices to City departments that result in cost savings a
nd a higher standard of service to Houston residents.
\n \;
\nPrior to his service as Ci
ty Controller\, Hollins led the 2020 elections effort in Harris County as
County Clerk\, gaining national acclaim for protecting and expanding votin
g rights for 2.5 million Houston-area voters during the most important ele
ction of our lifetime. Hollins&rsquo\;s innovations &ndash\; which include
d drive-thru voting\, 24-hour voting\, online mail ballot tracking\, and t
ripling the number of early voting centers &ndash\; led to eye-popping rec
ord voter turnout despite the ongoing global pandemic.
\n
\nHollins holds a Bachelor of Arts
with \;Phi Beta Kappa \;honors from Morehouse College and comp
leted a joint program with Yale Law School and Harvard Business School\, e
arning both his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees
. \;
\n
\nHoll
ins is admitted to the State Bar of Texas and Federal Courts for the South
ern District of Texas. Before being elected Houston City Controller\, he w
as the Principal Attorney at Hollins Law Group PLLC. \; Hollins spent
the bulk of his career as a management consultant where he was dedicated t
o helping large government agencies transform their operations to better a
chieve their missions and meet the needs of those they were entrusted to s
erve. \;
\n
\n
Hollins and his wife\, Morgan\, live in Houston&rsquo\;s Third Ward with t
heir daughter\, Vivian\, and their son\, George. \; The Hollins family
attends Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.
\n\n
Join Virtually --->\; October 17\, 2024
\n
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