With early voting under way, residents in Kingwood, Clear Lake and other parts of the city of Houston have the chance to vote on two city ballot measures, one of which—Proposition B—would mandate that Houston firefighters receive a salary increase to match what is paid to Houston police officers. City of Houston officials claim the raise is unsustainable for the city and would result in layoffs for hundreds of city employees. Meanwhile, representatives from the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association claim the raise is necessary because firefighters are underpaid compared to police officers and other fire departments around the state. Proposition B was placed on the ballot after a breakdown in contract negotiations between the city of Houston and the HPFFA 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 requesting Houston City Council to place the proposition on the ballot, which the council did in August. 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 members of the HPFFA rejected the offer, Lancton said. 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 on overnight. We are committed to working with the city to find a solution to a problem.” In addition to making less than Houston police officers, Houston firefighters make less than firefighters in other cities in Texas. 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 and a firefighter in San Antonio makes $52,164. 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. Additionally, he said it makes it harder for the department to recruit new firefighters and fill cadet classes. “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.” 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 a year. 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.” At the Oct. 2 Houston City Council Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting, City Controller Chris Brown presented an analysis completed by his office 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 annually—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 believes a solution to the issue still exists. “The control office believes a sustainable solution exists and that we can only do that through negotiating at the collective bargaining process,” Brown said. “It’s through that process that the men and women from [the Houston Fire Department] should be able to negotiate a well-deserved raise, but one that the city can actually afford.” In addition to this proposition, Houston voters will also have the chance to vote on Proposition A. If approved, this ballot measure would ensure that funds collected from a drainage fee included in residents' water bills are only used for drainage improvement projects or street repair projects relating to drainage, Houston Council Member Dave Martin said. "If you vote yes, that keeps city administration from using these dollars for other general fund expenditures," Martin said. "If you vote no, then that lock box component goes away and any administration can use the money for any general fund expenditure that they deem appropriate." Martin said the drainage fee was approved by voters in 2010 and started in 2011; however, this measure is on the ballot after the language used to describe the drainage fee was contested in court. The judge ordered the city to hold another vote to clarify how the funds collected from the fee can be spent. The drainage charge is a monthly fee based on how much of a person's property is made up of an impervious surface, such as concrete, as well the type of drainage system that is used on the property. For example, if a property uses a curb and and gutter system, the rate is $0.032 per sq. ft. of impervious surface, while if a property uses an open ditch drainage system the rate is $0.026 per square foot of impervious surface.