More than three months after Houston voters approved a pay raise for firefighters, the city is asking a judge to invalidate Proposition B.
Mayor Sylvester Turner insists the city is still trying to implement pay parity while also negotiating with firefighters, adding the court challenge is only to resolve any remaining legal questions.
“It appears to me what he's trying to do is to keep this tied up in the courts to delay putting this place,” says mayoral challenger Bill King.
King says lawsuits are nothing new for the city of Houston, but mayor turner dug his own hole by not negotiating in good faith like his predecessors.
“The dispute over HERO, that got tied up in court,” he says. “In this case the firefighters had to file a lawsuit even to get them to count the petitions. Where's the good faith attempt to do what the taxpayers ask you to do?”
King says the biggest losers are taxpayers.
“We're probably accruing back pay to these men and women right now, and that might include an interest payment, who knows?"
“This could get very, very expensive for taxpayers if he doesn't come to the table, negotiate in good faith and get this implemented like the taxpayers mandated that he should.”