Voters OK ‘parity’ on firefighter pay
Voters on Tuesday granted Houston firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding rank and seniority, giving a boost to firefighters who long have felt neglected by City Hall while dealing a blow to Mayor Sylvester Turner and the city budget he administers.
The passage of Proposition B sets up a potential court fight over the legality of the measure, and raises the possibility that Turner may swiftly implement his pledge to lay off more than 850 firefighters and scores of other city workers to accommodate what he repeatedly has called the measure’s “unaffordable” cost.
Turner and City Controller Chris Brown have
projected pay “parity” will cost more than $100 million in its first full year of implementation, constituting a more-than-25 percent raise for firefighters.
The other city of Houston measure on the ballot, Prop. A— a vote to “reaffirm” Houston’s pay-as-you-go street and drainage fund — passed easily. Voters created the program in 2010, but considered it again this fall because the Texas Supreme Court said the original ballot language did not make clear the program would include a new drainage fee. That fee was not at issue on Tuesday.
The mood at the White Oak Music Hall, where firefighters and their supporters gathered on election night, was euphoric, a stark departure from the angst and low morale of recent years.
“I’m excited,” said Johnathan DeLeon, a 15-year veteran who was taking photos with friends. “It’s a big day for us. It’s going to change firefighters’ families’ lives.”
Many firefighters felt betrayed when Turner — whom they supported in 2015 — pushed deep cuts to their pension benefits through the Texas Legislature, then drove a hard bargain in contract talks though firefighters had received just a 3 percent raise since 2011. Houston police, the firefighters’ union pointed out, have negotiated raises totaling 32 percent from 2011 through 2021.
The fire union declared an impasse in bargaining talks and sued the city last summer, then gathered tens of thousands of voters’ signatures on a petition to put the “parity” referendum on the ballot. When the petition remained uncounted months later, the firefighters sued and won to force the city to validate it and put it on Tuesday’s ballot.
“Houston firefighters want to make sure we’re equally valued,” Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association president Marty Lancton said Tuesday night. “We’ve remained committed to working with the city for the last year and a half, and we hope the city ends the divisive politics of public safety tonight.”
Turner has stressed that firefighters rejected a 4 percent raise from his predecessor and a 9.5 percent offer from him. Firefighters say the former deal came with too many concessions and the latter was presented after talks already had broken down.
The mayor also repeatedly has said firefighters deserve a raise but that the city could not afford parity overnight. He held more than a dozen town halls across the city to make his case. As of Oct. 27, Turner, who faces reelection next year, had spent about $486,000 of his personal campaign funds to oppose Prop. B and promote Prop. A.
Turner said he thinks voters will be surprised by the fallout from the measure, which he said was not in the best interest of the city or the firefighters.
In a statement, the mayor said, “Some firefighters who had hoped to benefit from Prop B will lose their jobs instead — while older firefighters get a 29 percent pay hike,” noting that police, solid waste, parks and libraries also will see cuts.
He later added, “I wasn’t just bluffing or being a demagogue. I fully understand the emotional appeal. I got that. But at the same time, there are no freebies.”
Turner hinted at possible machinations to come, calling the petition language “vague and ambiguous,” but declined to commit to legal action to fight the measure. He also declined to lay out a timeline for when layoffs and service cuts would begin.
A statement from the Houston Police Officers’ Union was more direct: “We will now research appealing to the court system to help protect Houstonians and our officers from the irresponsible actions by some in the Houston firefighters’ union.”
Asked about the threat of layoffs, Lancton pointed to the vote tally, saying, “Clearly the citizens of Houston are saying they do not want politics to be played on the backs of public safety.”
City attorney Ron Lewis has said the firefighters’ new salaries would be reflected in the first pay period after the election is canvassed, a legal process that requires city council approval and by state law must be completed within 11 days of Election Day.