Houston Controller opens formal probe after records show Mayor Whitmire's $127,000-a-year 'senior adviser for financial integrity' badged into City Hall only 13 times in nearly 600 workdays, then says the mayor's administration is withholding the requested records

A Houston Chronicle investigation found that Chris Brown, a former term-limited city controller whom Mayor John Whitmire hired in January 2024 into a newly created role as senior adviser for financial integrity at a $127,321 salary, badged into city facilities only 13 times since starting and just twice in 2026 through early April, while sending only about a dozen outgoing emails in the first four months of 2026. City Controller Chris Hollins announced a formal independent investigation on June 15, 2026 into whether taxpayers received appropriate value and whether internal controls functioned properly.