City’s eye on pay across line

Parity concerns for police, firefighters link 2 Texarkanas

TEXARKANA — Officials in Texarkana, Ark., are keeping a close eye on contract negotiations between Texarkana, Texas, and its firefighters union.

Pay parity between Arkansas-side police and firefighters and their counterparts across the state line in Texas has long been an issue between the neighboring towns, and officials on the Arkansas side are concerned about matching any pay raise Texas-side police and firefighters might receive.

“The greatest concern with the negotiations is obviously the pay,” said Jeff Pritchett, president of the Arkansas-side firefighters’ union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 502. “We are tied to Texarkana, Texas, with a pay-parity issue. Therefore, a large-percentage increase will be challenging for Arkansas.”

“Texarkana, Texas, Local 367 is responsible for its membership and achieving the best possible situation for their members,” Pritchett said. “Texarkana, Ark., Local 502 will keep a watchful eye on things and proceed according to the situation we face when the negotiations are concluded.”

After the Texas side enacted a pay raise for all city employees in 2016, Texarkana, Ark., struggled to fund matching raises for police and firefighters, despite two 0.25 percent sales taxes approved by Arkansas-side voters in 1996 to do so. The city settled on a plan to give police and firefighters an immediate 4 percent raise and an additional 3 percent or 4 percent raise each year thereafter until parity was achieved.

Arkansas-side City Manager Kenny Haskin said having to come up with another pay raise could cause serious problems in city budgeting.

“It took some heavy lifting for us to come up with the most recent increases,” he said. “Only one word can describe how this could potentially impact Arkansas: crippling.”

A lawsuit filed by a group of Arkansas-side residents in December seeks a judgment to enforce pay parity for police, claiming mismanagement of parity sales-tax revenue. It is unclear how the outcome of the suit might affect the city’s firefighters.

In November 2016, Texas-side residents voted to allow the Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department to engage in collective bargaining with the city, and department firefighters later chose their union to represent them in talks.

Contract negotiations began Thursday, with the union proposing raises for the Texarkana, Texas Fire Department, and an increase in the minimum number of firefighters on duty.

The city will present a counterproposal at the next negotiation meeting June 26.