Hollins opens probe into Whitmire aide’s attendance and city spending

Houston Controller Chris Hollins opened a formal investigation into Mayor John Whitmire’s senior adviser for financial integrity, Chris Brown, after questions surfaced about how often Brown actually showed up to City Hall and how he used city resources. Hollins said the review will examine whether city policies were followed, whether Brown performed and documented the duties attached to the job, and whether taxpayers received the work they paid for.

At the center of the inquiry is a politically sensitive claim: Brown, a former Houston city controller, was paid about $127,000 a year for the past two and a half years while badging into city facilities only 13 times over nearly 600 workdays. Hollins asked Whitmire to at least suspend Brown while the probe continues.

The controller’s office said the investigation could take weeks, months or longer, keeping the matter in view as Houston heads deeper into the current budget cycle. Hollins’ office also said it was already looking at other financial concerns in Whitmire’s administration, including a reported taxpayer-funded podcast cost.

Brown’s job matters beyond the personnel fight because it was specially created by the mayor and centered on financial integrity. Hollins, who has served as Houston city controller since January 2024, oversees a budget exceeding $7 billion and manages the city’s investment and debt portfolios. The controller’s office certifies the availability of funds before city commitments, processes and monitors disbursements, invests city money, conducts internal audits, and produces Houston’s annual financial report.

Whitmire defended Brown’s role, saying Brown helped pass the city’s FY2027 budget by a 15-1 vote and had been useful to the administration’s fiscal push. In a statement, Whitmire wrote that Brown “ran a serious, competent Controller's Office,” helped define Houston’s structurally imbalanced budget problem, and was valuable as the city tries to reduce costs and build long-term fiscal stability.

The clash adds another chapter to a strained relationship between Hollins and Whitmire, who have repeatedly sparred over budgets, overtime spending and ethics issues. The dispute also follows a previous Whitmire accusation that Hollins engaged in “pay-to-play” fundraising, an allegation the city legal department later found was not sustained and closed on Oct. 16, 2025.

For City Hall, the stakes are larger than one adviser’s attendance record. Hollins’ probe goes directly to whether Houston’s top financial offices are policing public money and politically connected appointments with enough rigor to protect public trust.