Former controller Chris Brown defends pay and record as council questions oversight

Chris Brown, who served two terms as Houston’s elected controller and now works as a senior advisor in the mayor’s office, told the council he had helped lead long‑running efforts on pension and OPEB reform and defended his current role and compensation amid public scrutiny.

Brown said he had championed the Checkbook Open Finance transparency initiative and cited pension reforms that once addressed an $8.2 billion liability down to roughly $1.7 billion. "When I was controller, we operated on a simple principle called balls and strikes," he told the council, urging that the same standards of accountability apply to the controller’s office.

He proposed a combination of voluntary retirement offerings together with selective backfilling and use of automation for repetitive tasks as a multi‑year strategy to reduce structural deficits. Brown said his current, remote, advisory role involves project‑based work and defended the compensation arrangement, saying he accepted a pay cut to serve in the role.

Councilmember Salinas pressed Brown on the number of hours worked and the $127,000 salary reported in public records; Brown answered that his employment is not hourly and estimated variable weekly hours. The exchange was heated at times; the mayor interjected to caution against prolonged cross examination during the meeting.

Brown offered to help on fiscal proposals and urged a focus on solutions rather than political attacks. No formal personnel actions were taken at the meeting; council members expressed mixed reactions in subsequent remarks.