Mayor Turner Questions Legitimacy Of Firefighter Pay Parity

HOUSTON — An overwhelming show of support at the ballot box for Proposition B on Nov. 6 didn’t sway Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston City Council from voting to spend $500,000 on legal fees to determine if the validity of the ballot issue.

Voters approved the Firefighter Pay Parity initiative, known as Prop B, and the city council adopted the initiative earlier this week, making it a law in Houston that firefighters will be paid the same as Houston police officers.

While it sounds logical, fair, and good for the city and the firefighters, Turner has said Prop. B would cost millions the city couldn’t afford, that there would be layoffs in various city departments, including the fire department, and vital services would be severely impacted.

On Wednesday, Turner went to the city council and asked to hire an outside law firm at a cost of $500,000 to examine whether Prop B was legitimate. Prop B was placed on the ballot using the language from the petition, which in some cases was considered vague. The council voted 9-7 to hire an outside firm.

Turner said he believes state law would preempt Prop B from taking effect, despite voter approval. However, it will have to be presented in District Court to get a legal determination.

If a judge agrees that state law preempts Prop B, then the vote won’t matter and the Houston Professional Firefighters Association will have to go to arbitration with the city to seek a pay increase.

However, if a judge sides with Prop B, then it goes into effect and there could be layoffs.
City departments are already bracing for as many as 1,000 city employees getting pink slips very soon.

Meanwhile, a Houston Professional Firefighters Association read in part: "Houston City Council today approved Mayor Sylvester Turner’s request for funds to pay for litigation against voter-approved Prop B. The debate was intense, but the bottom line is, the mayor now expects Houston taxpayers to pay for his million-dollar attack on Prop B voters and his continuing political war on Houston firefighter families...Today we saw that the mayor’s vindictiveness is surpassed only by his dishonesty about the implementation of Prop B. Contrary to the mayor’s claims, state law is clear: a legally negotiated contract with firefighters would settle this issue, once and for all. Houstonians need to recognize that the mayor is willing to destabilize public safety to settle political scores…"

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