Houston City Council approves new HFD agreement and next year’s budget

HOUSTON — At Wednesday’s meeting, Houston City Council members said they want more time to review a proposed collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters’ union and the city’s budget for the next fiscal year .

The deal with the firefighters union — including settling back pay dating back to 2017 — is estimated to be worth $1.5 billion.

Council members and the city comptroller’s office said they had just received a final copy of the proposal Monday, less than 48 hours before a scheduled vote Wednesday morning. Until Monday, officials had been working on draft copies.

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The city’s budget includes the financial impact of the new collective agreement and the settlement with the union.

Mayor John Whitmire said he accepted council members needed more time to review the situation.

“The budget needed to be tagged to give people more time, which is great,” Whitmire told reporters Wednesday. “(The deal with) the fire department, we were thinking about going today. We’re surveying the board members, we’re working with them, we’ve had 22 financial meetings, some members were more involved than others, but it’s is a truly significant proposition.

Council members also want time to add amendments to the budget, including a proposal from Councilman Julian Ramirez to add funds to the Houston Police Department to add a sixth class of cadets, in addition to the five planned in the budget propose.

Whitmire said he agreed with the idea.

“We’re going to find the funds for a sixth class of cadets,” Whitmire told reporters. “The challenge at HPD is to have an aggressive recruiting program that brings very dedicated and qualified young cadets to the city.”

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Whitmire was also asked about the progress of the search for a permanent leader – saying only that the process was still ongoing.

“We are making progress and we will get there in a timely manner,” Whitmire said. “Interim Chief Satterwhite is doing a good job, but we are looking at all of our options, all of the candidates.”

The council is expected to meet next week to vote on the budget and the firefighters union deal.

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