Houston City Council is expected to discuss the revised meet-and-confer agreement between the city and the Houston Police Officers’ Union during a March 23 meeting.

A meet-and-confer is when all parties involved discuss matters through a negotiation process to reach an agreement. In this case, it's an agreement between the city of Houston and HPOU that includes rules, benefits, union privileges and wages for Houston Police Officers.

As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the new meet-and-confer agreement includes a slew of changes, such as a revision to the 180-day rule and a 10.5% pay raise.

During a March 22 public session, a number of speakers spoke out against the agreement, calling on the council to delay the vote until after the city votes on its fiscal year 2022-23 budget in June. Speakers said they believe the city's budget needs to be included in the conversation before a decision is made on the agreement with the union.

Those who spoke also called on the council for more transparency, asking for the contract to be made into a presentation by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee before being the vote.



At the March 22 meeting, Lauren Johnson, a policy and advocacy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said that by implementing a presentation, the public will be able to engage with the contract through questions, debate, meaningful conversations and feedback.

In Houston, the process of the meet-and-confer agreement is done behind closed doors. Many speakers said they would like to see the city implement the same changes as other cities, such as San Antonio and Austin, both of which now allow the public to be involved in the process of the agreement.

As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, Nick Hudson, a policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU, said he believes the lack of input from the public means Houston cannot ensure the agreement is living up to its standards. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office said in an email that all parties involved do their best to achieve a positive outcome while keeping the interests of citizens in mind.

District G Council Member Mary Nan Huffman, an attorney for HPOU, plans to abstain from the vote, according to her Chief of Staff Kathleen Shelton. Huffman represents police officers when they are involved in a shooting or an in-custody death, according to her website.