Judge lifts order blocking Houston firefighter pay measure

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press
Updated 6:22 pm CST, Tuesday, December 18, 2018

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Tuesday lifted a court order blocking the implementation of a new charter amendment that would give Houston's firefighters pay parity with city police officers, but the mayor says the raise would cost the city up to $100 million and result in hundreds of layoffs.

The measure, which calls for firefighters and police officers of similar rank or status to be paid equally, was approved by Houston voters last month.

The firefighters' union says its members have had only a 3 percent pay raise since 2011 and they are woefully underpaid compared with Houston police and other fire departments across the country. Houston police officers got a 7 percent pay raise in October.

Tuesday's ruling is in connection with a lawsuit that Houston's police officers' union filed against the firefighters' union and the city to stop the amendment from being put into action. The police officers' union claimed the amendment is inconsistent with state law and is unconstitutionally vague.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Judge-lifts-order-blocking-Houston-firefighter-13475286.php

[Igel]

1. Yup. It's a bit of a mess.

I wonder if the city'll do what it usually does. Extend its tax base along roads to be able to charge tax for more businesses, stripping out revenue from the surrounding county while not bothering to actually provide any of the services the taxes are to pay--schools, police protection, fire department, trash collection.

Granted, often they graciously bestow up to 50% of the taxes collected back to the county. The claim is that the city is such a great service that everybody should help support it.

I've been in the city limits three times in the last five years. Once to get a guitar repaired. Twice for jury duty.

Well, I say I've been in the city limits three times in the last five years. That's not quite true. Every time I go to work I cross into and out of the city several times. I shop mostly in the city. But that's because I-45 is a strip of city going 15 miles north of the city, a thin strip gerrymandered for tax revenue, with boundaries only actually leaving the freeway when there's a business to be taxed or a main surface road with businesses along it.

It makes my school district the poorer. Houston Independent School District is considered "rich", but argues poverty based on having an "urban" population.