Houston firefighters pay raise

[striker55]

The voters voted for a pay raise, the city doesn't want to honor it. The city wants to take it to court. I don't get it, if the issue was put on the ballot and passes how does the city even contest it? If it got turned down the city would be happy. Of course the city says it can't afford to give pay raises, I say the voters wanted it, raise the taxes to pay for it.

[C-dub]

They would rather pay people that are unwilling to work instead of people that actually work and earn their pay. Morons! I mean liberals!

[bblhd672]

Was there an approved tax increase to fund the raise?

[striker55]

Was there an approved tax increase to fund the raise?

Not that I know of, if the voters want the firefighters to have a raise where do they think the money will come from?
I'm questioning why put something on the ballot when the outcome doesn't go your way you take it to court?

[DevilDawg]

The irony is that before long, if not already, fighting the required pay raise is going to cost the Citizens of Houston kingdom more in court and lawyers than it would to just pay it.

[TexasJohnBoy]

The irony is that before long, if not already, fighting the required pay raise is going to cost the Citizens of Houston kingdom more in court and lawyers than it would to just pay it.

Welcome to government litigation - Where you get to pay your lawyer and you get to pay theirs too!

[OneGun]

Was there an approved tax increase to fund the raise?

NO!

[rotor]

I am sure Houston firefighters are great people and I bet their union really pushed this but asking the electorate to approve pay raises is ridiculous. What about all of the support people who may work harder? They won't get the raise. Government employee raises shouldn't be decided by the electorate but should be a set scale such as a gs12 or whatever number system they use. We all have feel good employees that we would love to help but this should not be how they are payed. If the firefighters don't like their pay they can do what you and I do, get another job. I would bet they have a pretty good salary, benefit and retirement plan right now.

[seph]

I am sure Houston firefighters are great people and I bet their union really pushed this but asking the electorate to approve pay raises is ridiculous. What about all of the support people who may work harder? They won't get the raise. Government employee raises shouldn't be decided by the electorate but should be a set scale such as a gs12 or whatever number system they use. We all have feel good employees that we would love to help but this should not be how they are payed. If the firefighters don't like their pay they can do what you and I do, get another job. I would bet they have a pretty good salary, benefit and retirement plan right now.

It's not about a pay raise for the firefighters, but instead about alligning their pay with police officers who are paid more. The vote was for pay parity between the departments.

[rotor]

I am sure Houston firefighters are great people and I bet their union really pushed this but asking the electorate to approve pay raises is ridiculous. What about all of the support people who may work harder? They won't get the raise. Government employee raises shouldn't be decided by the electorate but should be a set scale such as a gs12 or whatever number system they use. We all have feel good employees that we would love to help but this should not be how they are payed. If the firefighters don't like their pay they can do what you and I do, get another job. I would bet they have a pretty good salary, benefit and retirement plan right now.

It's not about a pay raise for the firefighters, but instead about alligning their pay with police officers who are paid more. The vote was for pay parity between the departments.

Is that a decision that should be made by the voting public? My point is that the salary of government employees should not be based on public opinion and popularity poles. If police officers are paid more then firefighters that don't like their pay can become police officers. If the city can't retain firefighters because of low pay then they will pay more. Supply and demand, not an advertising campaign aimed at the dumb public probably by a union. I say all of this without any real knowledge of the vote and whether unions pushed it or not so I may be completely out of bounds.

[seph]

Is that a decision that should be made by the voting public? My point is that the salary of government employees should not be based on public opinion and popularity poles. If police officers are paid more then firefighters that don't like their pay can become police officers. If the city can't retain firefighters because of low pay then they will pay more. Supply and demand, not an advertising campaign aimed at the dumb public probably by a union. I say all of this without any real knowledge of the vote and whether unions pushed it or not so I may be completely out of bounds.

Yes, the voting public (ie tax payers) do have the right to cast their vote to decide how much public employees (which are paid from tax dollars) are paid.

[apostate]

Hopefully the city of Houston will fund pay raises and bond repayment by raising sales tax rates, or by implementing a head tax on residents. It's only right for people who don't own property to pay their fair share of the bills, if they get to vote to raise spending.

The best way to directly vote on government spending is with direct financial contribution from the people who "vote" for higher pay for fire department, bigger ISD football stadiums, et cetera. Let's find out how they REALLY feel about the issues when they have to put THEIR money where there mouths are.

[rotor]

Is that a decision that should be made by the voting public? My point is that the salary of government employees should not be based on public opinion and popularity poles. If police officers are paid more then firefighters that don't like their pay can become police officers. If the city can't retain firefighters because of low pay then they will pay more. Supply and demand, not an advertising campaign aimed at the dumb public probably by a union. I say all of this without any real knowledge of the vote and whether unions pushed it or not so I may be completely out of bounds.

Yes, the voting public (ie tax payers) do have the right to cast their vote to decide how much public employees (which are paid from tax dollars) are paid.

This makes pay raises a popularity contest and not based on merit.

[anygunanywhere]

Since when has any government job pay been determined on merit?

If most got paid what they merited they would starve.