Update on $650 million deal with Houston Firefighters Union

HOUSTON — Houston City Comptroller Chris Hollins held an informational meeting Monday on the proposed settlement between the city and the Professional Fire Fighters Association.

The $650 million deal was announced in March and includes back pay dating back to 2017 and raises under a new collective bargaining agreement for the next five years.

City Finance Director Melissa Dubowski said the total cost of back wages plus interest paid over 25 to 30 years, plus five years of wage increases, is estimated at about $1.5 billion .

Hollins said it’s first important to put the numbers in perspective and provide clarity by comparing HFD salaries to firefighters in other major Texas cities.

He said Houston firefighters currently earn about 10 percent less than the average wage in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

“Our firefighters must be paid competitively. If we want to attract and retain talent in the future,” Hollins explained. “We need to ensure that HFD, and the city as a whole, are a great place to work, and that includes fair and competitive compensation for our team.

The analysis compared hourly wages because HFD firefighters work an average of about 47 hours per week, while the average for other large cities is about 55 hours per week.

“On an hourly basis, we have been underperforming our peers since the standoff began and I imagine well before that,” Hollins said.

During the impasse between the city and the union, local firefighters received no raises between 2017 and 2021.

HFD got a 6% raise each year from 2022 to 2024. Even with that, HFD salaries are about 10% lower than the average for other cities, Hollins said.

• A 10% increase in 2025 would bring them down to 3% of the average
• An additional 6% in 2026 would make them equal
• A 6% increase through 2029 would make their salaries 9% higher on average than in other cities.

The current salary for first-year Houston firefighters is approximately $51,800. With the increases proposed as part of the settlement, they would receive about $72,000 a year by 2029.

Hollins, who admitted to not having seen the settlement, proposed different scenarios to reduce the city’s financial burden while increasing HFD salaries.

They included raises based on the average of other large fire departments in the state, the percentage of raises for the Houston Police Department or the percentage of raises for other city employees.

These hypothetical settlement amounts were estimated to be between $300 million and $380 million.

“Our commitment is to continue to work with all of you, to continue to work with the Mayor, the City Council and other stakeholders, to put the City of Houston on a path to financial sustainability,” Hollins said. “Pure and simple.”

Council members said they wanted to explore these scenarios to save money.

“Now we have a lot more information and clarification on what those numbers look like,” said Councilor Edward Pollard.

“We need to pause and really think about all the paths to a resolution,” said board member Tiffany Thomas.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire responded to Hollins’ suggestions with a terse statement.

“I watched the comptroller’s briefing regarding the proposed settlement with the Houston Fire Department this morning. The comparative analysis presented by the Comptroller may have been new to him, but my administration had these and other scenarios available to him during negotiations with the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. The Controller used the term “illustrative” to describe the scenarios; I call them academic.

The fact remains that settlement before the court and, ultimately, before the municipal council, constitutes an alternative to a possible judgment rendered after a long trial or arbitration in years past.

Monday morning quarterbacks can chooseignore the fact that Texas law requires firefighter pay to be based on pay comparisons with the private sector, notthe audiencesector, but as mayor and lead negotiator, I cannot ignore this fact. It could very well have been a less expensive deal to make with the Houston Professional Firefighters Association, but that’s a conversation to have had with the previous administration eight years ago. I was elected – among other things – to end this dispute, and this agreement was the best alternative available to resolve this long-standing dispute with the Houston Fire Department.

The union also did not like Hollins’ ideas and called them “ill-informed, misleading and inaccurate.”

“The controller’s remarks are not only inaccurate, but disrespectful to the dedicated men and women who serve our city with courage and professionalism,” said Marty Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. “While the comptroller plays politics and manipulates the numbers, the Houston firefighters work
tirelessly, risking their lives to save citizens from rising waters. It is disappointing that an elected official
An official would choose to undermine the hard work and sacrifices of Houston firefighters by spreading misinformation.

WATCH: Full press conference

In March, Hollins said Houston leaders may have to add a new waste tax and ask voters to approve an increase in property taxes to close a budget gap estimated at $230 million to $280 million if the deal goes through. approved. The city was already in the red ($160 million) before the deal with HFD.

“We’re not broke, but we have what you might call a spending or income problem,” Hollins said.

He told city council members it was up to them to figure out how to close a budget deficit.

He said the city’s savings account can fill the gap in the first year, but not the second.

Other ideas were then put forward, including a five percent cost reduction in each city department, a reduction in vacant positions and a consolidation of call centers.

“With the amount of money we are talking about, we need additional revenue”

Dubowski told the council they are considering adjusting the fees to keep up with inflation and are exploring the possibility of imposing a new trash fee of about $20 per month.

“This would free up $100 million in general fund resources that could be used for other things,” Dubowski said.

In an April 30 update, nearly six weeks after the agreement was announced, several council members said they were still awaiting details on the proposed settlement.

“As a council, we still haven’t seen the details,” said District C City Council member and Labor Committee chairwoman Abbie Kamin. “We still don’t have the full financial analysis, but we are having a nearly three-hour committee meeting on this because it is very important to the financial future of the city of Houston.”

“It’s very difficult for us to ask questions when we haven’t seen a draft of the CBA in its current form,” said District C council member Abbie Kamin. “So all of this doesn’t is still speculation or deviation from what we have heard or seen in circulating drafts.”

“I agree,” Lancton replied. “Doing nothing would have put us in a much worse situation. »

Lancton said settling this case instead of going to trial would save taxpayers money and spread out payments.

“If there was a judgment, you would postpone that responsibility immediately to July 1,” he said.

The Texas Attorney General, the Houston City Council and District Judge Lauren Reeder must approve the settlement agreement.

City Attorney Arturo Michel hopes to finalize the deal before July 1, when the 2025 fiscal year begins.

“It’s a good deal for the taxpayers and the fire department,” Lancton told KHOU 11 News after his presentation to council members. “We can close this and move forward and we’re excited to be here and discuss it.”

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