Houston Controller Chris Hollins announced an investigation into Mayor John Whitmire's senior advisor for financial integrity, Chris Brown. The investigation will examine compliance with city policies, oversight measures, and whether taxpayers received appropriate value from the position.

Brown serves as senior advisor for financial integrity to Whitmire, and the position was created specifically for him within the administration. He received an annual taxpayer-funded salary of more than $127,000, while records indicate he badged into city facilities 13 times over a period spanning nearly 600 workdays. "The central issue in question is whether the work being paid for with taxpayer money was performed at all," Hollins said.

Hollins requested that Whitmire suspend Brown pending the outcome of the investigation. "I'm calling upon Mayor Whitmire to immediately suspend Chris Brown pending the outcome of this investigation. Suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing," Hollins said.

Whitmire issued a statement defending Brown and noted the advisor's more than 20 years of public service. "Chris Brown has spent more than 20 years serving Houstonians, including eight years as Controller, where he ran a serious, competent Controller's Office and helped define the problem of Houston's structurally imbalanced budget," Whitmire said. Brown served as Houston city controller from 2016 until approximately two and a half years ago and joined the mayor's office in January 2024.