Early Voting Begins October 22
Early voting begins on October 22, 2018. The ballot is very long. We will be electing our Federal, State, and County officials; in addition to our District and County civil and criminal court Judges for Harris County. There will be a number of Propositions on the ballot as well. I encourage everyone to vote early, if you can, or to appear at your designated polling place on November 6, 2018 to cast your ballot.
The Propositions placed on the Ballot by the City of Houston are Proposition A – Rebuild Houston and Proposition B – Fire Fighter Pay Parity with Police.
I have attempted to provide a brief synopsis of both Propositions’ history and impact, both pro and con. It is my hope that you find this information helpful.
Proposition A –
Rebuild Houston
Rebuild Houston first appeared before Houston voters in 2010 and narrowly passed. Following its passage, the Houston City Council passed an ordinance authorizing the fee, commonly referred to as the “rain tax”. Shortly thereafter, a lawsuit was filed and worked its way through the court system with a result that the wording of the proposal was vague. The court ordered a re-vote with more clear language.
VOTING FOR PROPOSITION “A” will affirm the current status and will
maintain the “lock box” on the funds collected to be used for street and drainage projects. There is no impact with regard to existing exemptions or the amount of the fee.
VOTING AGAINST PROPOSITION “A” will have the effect of
removing the “lock box” and would allow the city to use the funds for any purpose, as if it were in the general fund. There is no impact with regard to existing exemptions or the amount of the fee.
Regardless of how you vote on Proposition “A” the drainage fee (“rain tax”) will continue to remain in place.
Proposition B –
Fire Fighter Pay Parity
The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association has reached an impasse in their negotiations with the Mayor regarding pay and benefits. There have been two attempts at mediation to overcome the impasse and both have failed.
The last time the Houston Fire Department received a pay increase was during the Parker Administration in 2013. The amount of that pay increase was 3%. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association rejected a subsequent 4% pay increase during the Parker administration and, most recently, an offer of 9.5% increase from the Turner Administration.
The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association have decided to take their issue before the voters and request “Pay Parity” with Houston Police Officers, who have accepted gradual pay increases over the same period of time. The pay differential between the Fire Department and the Police Department is estimated at 25%. Thus, The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association is effectively asking for a minimum pay increase of 25% for Houston Fire Fighters.
VOTING FOR PROPOSITION
“B” indicates a desire for the city of Houston to reprioritize the city budget and provide a minimum of 25% pay increase to Fire Fighters, at the expense of between 800 – 900 current Fire Fighters and several hundred other city employee jobs.
An affirmative vote for this proposition will likely result in a reduction of services throughout the city to include the Parks Department, Library, Department of Neighborhoods, Police Department, and many others.
A yes vote for Proposition “B” may also cause the city to completely restructure the Houston Fire Department to include the likely privatization, civilianization, or separation of the ambulance service from the Houston Fire Department.
A yes vote for Proposition “B” indicates a desire to undercut the Mayor’s ability to negotiate with employee groups in future contract negotiations. This proposition will set the precedent of seeking employee pay and benefits package directly from the citizens of Houston rather than negotiating these issues directly with the city administration.
VOTING AGAINST PROPOSITION “B” indicates you do not want to reprioritize the city budget and provide a minimum of 25% pay increase to Fire Fighters.
A negative vote on this proposition will have no immediate impact on the current city budget, nor will it cause any layoffs of current Fire Fighters or other city employees. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association will have to re-engage with the Mayor to negotiate a contract and likely accept a 9.5% pay increase.
A “No” vote on this proposition will affirm to other future employee groups that the Mayor of Houston is the bargaining agent for the citizens of Houston.
