Houston Fire Chief Pena made his pitch to city council members Tuesday in the midst of tensions between the governing body and firefighters. Just last week, layoff notices were sent to 67 fire cadets whose statuses were in limbo.
Under Pena's proposal, his firefighters would move from four to three shifts, nine units would be put out of service, but no stations would close. Pena advised that the plan would result in a response time increase, averaging two seconds citywide.
"Firefighters deserve everything coming to them, it is on us to find a way to implement this obligation," Pena told council members. "Houston needs to win in the end."
Pena's plan starts by changing firefighters' work schedules from four shifts to three, saying it lowers the total number of layoffs while protecting Houston's public safety. The shift change does not save money outside the layoffs, but allows Pena to keep the maximum number of fire trucks in operation. The money savings come from the layoffs.
Chief Pena suggests mothballing three ladder trucks and two engines, and removing four supervisors per shift, but again, closes no fire stations.
https://abc13.com/politics/220-layoffs-and-shift-reduction-to-implement-prop-b-hfd-chief/5240252/
Why? What started all this in motion? Last year, the city budget contended with another issue, equal pay for equal rank and seniority:
A year after convincing voters that fiscal prudence was needed to fix Houston’s costly pension programs, Mayor Sylvester Turner again is pushing financial pragmatism at the ballot box.Under Pena's proposal, his firefighters would move from four to three shifts, nine units would be put out of service, but no stations would close. Pena advised that the plan would result in a response time increase, averaging two seconds citywide.
"Firefighters deserve everything coming to them, it is on us to find a way to implement this obligation," Pena told council members. "Houston needs to win in the end."
Pena's plan starts by changing firefighters' work schedules from four shifts to three, saying it lowers the total number of layoffs while protecting Houston's public safety. The shift change does not save money outside the layoffs, but allows Pena to keep the maximum number of fire trucks in operation. The money savings come from the layoffs.
Chief Pena suggests mothballing three ladder trucks and two engines, and removing four supervisors per shift, but again, closes no fire stations.
https://abc13.com/politics/220-layoffs-and-shift-reduction-to-implement-prop-b-hfd-chief/5240252/
Why? What started all this in motion? Last year, the city budget contended with another issue, equal pay for equal rank and seniority:
This time, however, his opponent is not a faceless bureaucratic money hole. Instead the mayor is waging a public fight with Houston firefighters, who remain one of the most popular employee groups in the public’s mind.
At issue is a fire union-backed proposal that would grant firefighters pay “parity” with police officers of corresponding rank and seniority. Turner says firefighters deserve a raise but the city cannot afford the measure, a claim the firefighters dispute.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Mayor-Turner-faces-steep-challenge-with-fire-13262635.php
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