Residents in Kingwood and other parts of the city of Houston will vote on Proposition B during the Nov. 6 election, which will mandate that Houston firefighters receive a salary increase to match what is paid to Houston police officers, if it passes.
The proposition was placed on the ballot after a breakdown in contract negotiations between the city of Houston and the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association in 2014 and 2017, resulting in firefighters not receiving pay raises since 2011, HPFFA President Marty Lancton said.
After the contract negotiations ended last year without a new deal, the HPFFA collected almost 60,000 signatures on a petition—while only needing 20,000—requesting Houston City Council to place the proposition on the ballot.
Although specifics on how this pay parity would be implemented are unknown, city of Houston officials estimate this measure would cost the city between $85 million-$98 million in the first year it takes effect. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he believes the cost of the proposition is unsustainable, and if it passes the city would need to lay off hundreds of city workers.
“[Proposition B] would put us in deep financial trouble,” Turner said at the Aug. 8 City Council meeting. “This is not about being anti-firefighters, it’s about the financial stability of this city.”
A growing divide
The Houston Fire Department services three different parts of the Lake Houston area. There are four stations located in Kingwood, one in Summerwood and five near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The Houston Fire Department also occasionally helps local departments—such as the Humble Fire Department—if they need assistance, city of Humble Fire Chief David Langenberg said.
The last time the HPFFA and city of Houston agreed on a contract—which covers three years—was in 2011, which included a 1 percent pay increase for firefighters, Lancton said. In 2014, the city offered firefighters a 4 percent pay increase, but it also included cuts to firefighters’ benefits, so it was rejected by members of the HPFFA.
Collective bargaining negotiations for the firefighters’ 2017 contract began in March of that year but stalled after the city and the HPFFA were unable to reach an agreement, Lancton said.
At various public meetings since negotiations ended Turner has said the city is open to offering firefighters a 9.5 percent pay increase.
However, Lancton said this raise was never offered during the collective bargaining process last year.
City of Houston officials estimate firefighter pay lags behind police officer pay by about 25 percent, depending on rank and position. However, Lancton said there is no language on the ballot dictating what percent raise firefighters will receive.
“Nowhere in the petition does it say anything about a 25 percent pay increase,” Lancton said. “We don’t expect the light switch to turn on overnight. We are committed to working with the city to find a solution.”
Pay differences
Along with making less than Houston police officers, Houston firefighters make less than firefighters in other cities in Texas and across the country. For example, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters, a Houston firefighter in his or her first year of service makes $40,170, while a firefighter in Dallas makes $49,207, a firefighter in San Antonio makes $52,164 and a firefighter in Chicago makes $56,304.
Additionally, in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and numerous other large cities in the country, pay parity exists between firefighters and police officers, Lancton said.
This difference in pay compared to other cities has contributed to more than 300 firefighters leaving the department in the last two and a half years, Lancton said. It also makes it harder for the department to recruit new firefighters and fill cadet classes, he said.
“When you continue to have a revolving door, you are not getting the best of the best,” Lancton said. “If you’re talking about retaining quality firefighters … our tax dollars are going to train [firefighters], and they are leaving for other places.”
Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, whose district includes Kingwood and other portions of the Lake Houston area, said comparing Houston firefighter pay to other cities is not always accurate because there could be differences between how the fire departments operate. For example, Dallas firefighters make a higher salary, but they also work more hours per week.
Nonetheless, Martin and Turner both acknowledge Houston firefighters are underpaid and deserve a raise, but Turner said asking voters to decide the issue is harmful to the city.
“When you put employee-management decisions into the public domain … you make the process contentious, and you divide the city,” Turner said. “You’re putting employees against one another. It’s not good public policy.”
Financial implications
At the Oct. 2 Houston City Council Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting, City Controller Chris Brown presented his office’s analysis on the financial effects Proposition B could have on the city if it passes.
Brown said matching firefighter salaries to police officer salaries would cost the city $85 million in the first year the measure takes effect—which does not include the 7 percent pay raise City Council approved for police officers at its Oct. 3 meeting.
Brown said to offset this cost the city would need to lay off 700-800 employees. However, he said he believes a solution to the issue still exists but must be reached through the collective bargaining process.
“It’s through that process that the men and women from [the Houston Fire Department] should be able to negotiate a well-deserved raise,” he said. “But one that the city can actually afford.”
At a Sept. 4 Houston City Council Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said his department—which consists of about 4,000 employees—could not absorb the total cost of the proposition without decimating the city’s ability to provide emergency services.
The department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2019 is about $503 million, which has not increased much since 2016. Pena said although pay increases are needed for firefighters, there are other issues needing to be addressed in the department as well, such as about $45 million to replace fire engines and ambulances.
Because the cost of the proposition cannot be fully absorbed by the fire department, Martin said Turner began asking departments to look at possible budget and payroll reductions in October in the event the proposition passes.
Lancton declined to give an estimate on how much he believes the proposition will cost. Instead he said this proposition only asks voters whether or not firefighters should make the same salary as police officers.
“Proposition B simply asks one question: ‘Do you equally value the sacrifice of firefighters the same as police officers?’” Lancton said. “We have confidence in the citizens of Houston, no matter what their decision is.”
