Yesterday's Chronicle unveiling of a recent Houston City Council spending spree was an enjoyable, if not painful, read. Enjoyable for the sound bites, which I'll share in a moment, and painful for the clear lack of regard this collective body has for governing efficiently.

Council members had until June 30 to exhaust their budgets of more than $360,000, and based upon public spending records the Chronicle obtained through the Texas Public Information Act, members lost little time outfitting their offices at public cost.

I'll spare the reiteration of flat-panel television purchases -- who wouldn't want their City Council offices rockin' out the plasma? -- because what I found most interesting were the following gifts members passed on to other government departments.

My favorite was from Michael Sullivan. Councilman Sullivan, obviously caught in the eye of this mass frenzy of generosity, gave the fire stations in his district $9,695 worth of saws. Saws? Really? Are there that many cats getting caught in trees? Maybe if they were really cool saws, I could cut him some slack. But the financial statements only report "saws," so saws it is.

Other fiscal delights include District H Council Member Adrian Garcia's near $11,000 gift of saddles to mounted police officers.

Maybe the police in Garcia's district really needed the saddles. Maybe they needed saddles as much as Sullivan's fire fighters needed saws. I'm willing to suspend disbelief a little. But maybe a wiser group of officials would have rolled the budgets over into this year. Oh, wait. Why do that when the fiscal year 2008-09 council budgets have already been granted a 3 percent (or $10,000 each) increase?

Now for the sound bites, which I can only assume council members thought would make up for their budget binge. Regarding her purchase of five televisions (I know I said I wouldn't, but I couldn't resist), Councilwoman Melissa Noriega told the Chronicle, "I think those big old TVs are a safety hazard." Apparently her son was once befallen by a "heavy, bulky" set. For her part, Councilwoman Jolanda Jones spent $1,607 on re-upholstered chairs, which she had done up in pink to match the rest of her office. "I could have bought all new furniture, but I didn't. ... I got to be here for six years. I wanted it to match." Ah, now there's the civic mindset at work (with your money).

So that's what the Houston City Council has been up to, in a nutshell. Oh, and by the way--the city is hiring. I'll see you in the interview lounge, which I hear is pretty tricked out.