Mayor John Whitmire of Houston has acknowledged the financial challenges faced by the city due to years of excessive spending. In a recent meeting with Houston officials, Mayor Whitmire disclosed that the fourth-largest city in the country is burdened with a debt amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

Despite his victory over Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (R-TX) in the December elections, Mayor Whitmire has now unveiled a staggering deficit of $160 million. To address the repercussions of the previous Democratic administrations, the mayor is proposing a combination of spending cuts and potential new taxes, as reported by KRIV-TV.

“I think we can all agree that we’re broke,” Whitmire said at last week’s City Council meeting.

The Democratic mayor avoided taking any responsibility for Houston’s financial predicament.

“It was broken when I got here,” he asserted.

Whitmire disclosed that Houston is facing severe financial difficulties to the extent that the city lacks the resources to compensate firefighters. In fact, Whitmire has recently resolved a labor disagreement with city firefighters by committing to provide them with “$650 million for seven years of overdue wages,” as per KRIV’s coverage.

“I’m not going to play games with people’s lives,” Whitmire said.

“I’m not going to play politics with people’s lives.

“So we have a responsibility to settle with the firefighters and protect Houstonians.”

The mayor has suggested maintaining the current funding for the city’s police and fire departments, while proposing a 5 percent reduction in funding for all other government sectors in order to restore stability.

“I don’t like a 5 percent cut now, but you have to make tough decisions and the folks put me in this position to make tough decisions, and I’m going to do my job,” he said.

Whitmire encountered resistance from Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas at the meeting, as she insisted on a more defined plan.

“Are we going to fee Houstonians?” Thomas asked.

“Is it a trash fee? Are we paying for parking after 6?

“Are we going after Metro’s money? What are we doing?”

Watch: