Houston City Council approves meet-and-confer agreement between city, police union

Houston City Council voted in support of an ordinance that approves the revised meet-and-confer agreement between the city and the Houston Police Officers’ Union during its March 23 meeting.

The new contract provides raises for police officers while revising what is known as the "180-day rule," which deals with officer discipline after misconduct occurs.

Under the old contract, an officer could not be disciplined 180 days after misconduct occurs. Under the new contract, the 180 countdown now begins from the date misconduct is discovered, a change officials said will prevent officers from avoiding discipline simply by having misconduct go undiscovered for a long enough period of time.

The vote on the meet-and-confer came after over 30 minutes of council discussion. District B Council Member Tarsha Jackson first set a motion to delay the vote for two weeks, which was seconded by At-large Position 4 Council Member Letitia Plummer, but the motion failed.

Jackson said she wanted to give the public opportunity to provide feedback, using the delay to allow the community to be a part of the process. She said although she believes the Houston Police Department works hard and deserves its pay raise, the public should be able to give input and read the contract before a vote.

“At the end of the day, we have constituents we have to answer to, and they should be a part of the process,” Jackson said.

Plummer said she wanted more accountability, specifically referencing two rules—the 180-day rule and another rule known as the 48-hour rule—that have been called out by advocates looking to use the union contract as an avenue for reform within the department.

Plummer asked City Attorney Arturo Michel if either of those rules could be changed through the meet-and-confer negotiations. Michel said the timeline of the rules can be changed through negotiations between stakeholders.

At-large Position 1 Council Member Mike Knox expressed support for the meet-and-confer, adding that if the council were to delay the vote, he believed it would come off as a lack of trust in Mayor Sylvester Turner to do adequate negotiating.

Knox also said council engagement would be a direct violation of the rules in place by the city’s charter, which dictates that only the mayor can engage with the agreement. Michel confirmed this statement.

“I appreciate the need of the community to want to hold the police accountable,” Knox said. “But the fact of the matter is that we have a process; we have a procedure; we have things that we have to do.”

Turner told Jackson and Plummer that if changes were to be made to the agreement during the delay, then the process would be starting over again. The changes would need to be renegotiated with the HPOU and then approved again by members of the union, he said.

“Down the road other things might happen, but I will tell you right now that we needed this bill negotiated,” Turner said. “We need all hands on deck to recognize the appreciated value.”

The council also addressed concerns that were made by public speakers during a March 22 public session.

Some speakers called on the council to hold off on the vote until after the city's budget vote in June. Turner said voting on the budget before the union contract would delay the whole process. He said budget talks that took place in January allow the ordinance to be voted on now.

Although Turner said he appreciated the advocating from community members, he said if council wants to change the way Houston negotiates the meet-and-confer, members need to go through the Texas Legislature. He said his administration negotiated the best deal for the city of Houston, including changes that came based on recommendations from a special task force and from a letter written by five council members in 2020 following the murder of Houstonian George Floyd.

“I’ve tried to govern in a way that’s good for the city as a whole. I want the accountability, and the task force dealt with that,” Turner said. “But you can’t sacrifice the good seeking the perfect and end up with nothing.”

Jackson said in the future she hopes to see the meet-and-confer negotiations take place in a similar manner as community projects and capital improvement projects in Houston—driven by public engagement.

“At some point, we have to change how we do business,” Jackson said. “I believe we should include the community moving forward.”