VIDEO: 4,900 Houston firefighters receive long-awaited backpay

4,900 Houston firefighters lined up yesterday to receive checks for the backpay they accumulated while working without a contract.

SEE ALSO: Houston City Council approves bond to help pay for historic firefighter settlement

This event follows the Houston City Council’s vote on June 12, where members approved a bond to fund the $1.5 billion settlement deal with the fire department. The agreement includes $650 million in back pay and a 34% raise over the next five years for the firefighters.

Watch the video here:

Background

Mayor John Whitmire said the passing of the bonds is a step in the right direction of solving a back-and-forth battle that has lasted more than seven years.

“The city has the option to pay for the judgment liability that the city was never going to get away from. You can either pay for it out of the city’s general fund or you can finance it through a refunding bond. For us, it does not matter what the city would like to do, but I don’t think they have $650 million hanging out in the city’s general fund, and so, what they have done is they have financed it in a secure bond and the passage allows that to happen,” said Patrick “Marty” Lancton, President-Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.

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This settlement was one of Mayor Whitmire’s campaign promises, where he pledged to secure better working conditions and fair compensation for HFD members, and this agreement appears to fulfill that promise.

Council members voted 14 to three, with one of the no’s coming from councilmember Edward Pollard who presented an amendment that would send the settlement to the voters for them to approve.

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Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel said the $650 million in judgment bonds will come at an annual cost over the next 25 to 30 years, but that the specifics are still being worked out by the city’s finance department.

During the council meeting, Pollard wanted to know how this could impact taxpayers and how the city came up with the exact dollar amount. The councilmember also asked for justification on the sizeable increase to firefighter pay while asking other city department to cut back by 5%.

“When you think about the fiscal challenges that are looming for our city, we have to ask the tough questions to ensure that we have all the answers,” Pollard said. “We all support our firefighters, there’s no doubt. But can we afford this?”