Mayor Turner Enacts Hiring Freeze Ahead Of Prop B Vote

HOUSTON, TX — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a freeze on hiring, and a halt to promotions as a vote on firefighter pay parity with the Houston Police Department looms on Nov. 6.

Turner announced the hiring freeze in a Sept. 21 letter, and directed city department heads with critical hiring needs meet with him personally. Executive positions are exempt from the freeze.

Turner has railed against the pay parity proposal — referred to as Proposition B — claiming that passage of the initiative on Nov. 6 would lead to layoffs and a potential disruption of vital services.

Mary Benton, Turner’s press secretary, said in a statement that passage of Proposition B would financially cripple the city, and that if the measure is passed firefighter pay would increase by at least 25 percent, costing the city $98 million.

“The mayor believes it is not prudent at this time to hire additional city of Houston employees, who could lose their jobs as a result of the election,” Benton.

The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association responded on their Twitter page to Turner’s claims of dire consequences, should Proposition B pass on Nov. 6.

Regarding @SylvesterTurner's city hiring/promotion freeze and Prop B layoff threats despite strong city economy, we say, "If he is truly willing to destabilize public safety and hurt all city employees so he can further punish firefighters, that raises some troubling questions.”
— Houston Firefighters (@FirefightersHOU) September 25, 2018

Turner didn’t say how long the hiring freeze wold remain in effect.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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