Thomas Gregor Interviewed by KPRC: City of Houston Stalls Release of Public Records Regarding Water Billing
Houston water customers have struggled to get answers from the city about inaccurate water bills dating back to 2022. KPRC 2 Investigative reporters stepped in to help and they too have been waiting nearly 15 months for documents the Texas Attorney General told the City of Houston to hand over in December of 2022. The city has yet to comply. The city is obligated to make the information public, according to the Freedom of Information Act and the Texas Public Information Act. So why the hold up a year later?
On March 27, six months later, KPRC asked the city, “Where are the documents?”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who ran on a platform of transparency, won’t discuss the situation. KPRC and the public have been waiting for those records for so long that most of the employees and elected leaders involved are no longer working for the city.
KPRC discussed the situation with Gregor Wynne Arney attorney Thomas Gregor, who has assisted the public and media with requests under the state’s Public Information Act for more than 20 years.
“It’s unconscionable. The Act is there to allow the public to see behind the curtain, to see what the government is doing, how they’re doing it, and what are their reasons for doing it. They serve the people so they should readily be able to provide that information,” said Gregor.
“That’s very unfortunate because it almost seems intentional that they’re trying to run out the clock,” said Attorney Tom Gregor with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.