Houston City Council to vote on HFD budget and contract

HOUSTON — The Houston City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on the city’s new budget as well as a $1.5 billion contract for the city’s fire department.

The vote was originally scheduled to take place a week ago, but tensions in the council chamber led to a delay after some members argued they did not have enough time to review the deal.

It’s also unclear whether the council will adopt the budget and contract this time around. City Comptroller Chris Hollins has already made clear he will not certify the deal. He sent KHOU 11 a statement saying in part that it would be irresponsible for him to approve the contract without asking more critical questions about it.

“As I have said before, I would not be doing my job as Houston’s taxpayer watchdog if I allowed this important item – which will ultimately cost the city more than $1 billion – to move forward without answering critical questions that are relevant to the financial viability of the city and the safety of Houstonians.

“The mayor’s letter did not answer 90% of my questions – the most important being one that could have an impact of more than $100 million on the city’s finances.

“It would be irresponsible and expose the City to significant financial risk if we move forward without greater clarity.”

Earlier this week, the city comptroller’s office sent a letter with more than 30 questions to the mayor asking for more concrete answers on issues such as how many firefighters will benefit from the deal and where the money will actually come from ..

The more than 120-page collective bargaining agreement includes more than $1 billion in pay raises and back pay for firefighters dating back to 2017. One of the biggest concerns of some council members is a provision in the deal that could foster special pay raises if the city gets more revenue. They said it was unclear what would trigger the increases.

Another concern raised at last week’s council meeting was how the $650 million arrears amount was reached during negotiations and whether the city could have reached an agreement for a less costly deal.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire argued the city risks a much higher amount if the backpay dispute continues in court.

“To be clear, by not certifying this agreement and allowing the City Council to carry out its legislative duties, you are risking fire and emergency operations for all Houstonians as well as the entire negotiated settlement” , Whitmire said in response to Hollins’ statement.

The mayor said the proposed budget was developed with the fiscal impact of the collective agreement in mind.

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