Election Day 2018: Houston Voters Approve Firefighter Pay Parity

HOUSTON, TX — Proposition B was overwhelmingly approved by voters, despite Mayor Sylvester Turner's warnings of dire financial consequences if it passed.

Turner and the Houston Police Officers Union have always called this a bad idea, but the voters thought otherwise, and approved Prop B overwhelmingly with 282,425 in favor of the initiative, and 194,482 against.

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While pay parity seemed like a no-brainer to most outside of the issue, those tasked with the management of Houston’s finances believed approving Prop B would have dire consequences for the city’s future financial health.

Oddly enough, Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena is among those who feel Prop B needed to fail. If it passed, Pena said he would be forced to layoff more than 800 of the city’s 4,000 firefighters.

“We can’t get rid of 800 firefighters at one shot and deliver the same le3ve of service, Pena said during a townhall meeting in September.

Turner said the financial impact of Prop B will be almost $300 million to the city.

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