Houston's $1.9 billion budget draws questions Houston Chronicle Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 09:59 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2012 The spending plan is not the calamity the city faced last year when it laid off 764 employees, struck deals to defer tens of millions of dollars of expenses and threatened to close pools and community centers before a couple of oil companies bailed it out.