Houston Deal Aims to Cut Firefighters` Overtime

March 04--Houston firefighters would get a raise in exchange for limiting their days off for the last four months of the fiscal year in a deal aimed at getting the Fire Department's overtime spending under control, Mayor Annise Parker and the fire union president announced Monday.

Both sides hope the agreement, which must be ratified by the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 341 membership and the City Council, will prevent firetrucks from being pulled from service as part of Fire Chief Terry Garrison's "brownout" plan to balance the Fire Department's budget.

The deal would give firefighters a 2 percent raise, effective March 1. Each firefighter also would get a lump-sum payment of about $975, intended as a uniform allowance, that would be paid in July with the new budget year.

The raises would cost the city $1.8 million for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends June 30. The uniform allowance would cost $3.6 million.

In exchange, firefighters would agree to a series of changes aimed at controlling overtime costs, including a ban on using any more personal holidays than they already have scheduled for the last four months of the fiscal year.

HFD is on pace to exceed its $447 million budget by $10.5 million, about $8.5 million of which is due to overtime paid to firefighters during a staffing shortage exacerbated by a union contract that leaves Garrison unable to effectively restrict when firefighters take time off.

Showing 'Good Faith'

"This gives us an opportunity to show good faith to each other, but also to solve a problem that had unexpectedly arisen, and to demonstrate to the public our continued strong commitment to public safety," Parker said. "Through productive give and take, we were able to develop a short-term agreement that will be beneficial to the rank and file while also allowing us to deal with the overtime problem."

The administration and the firefighters union already were engaged in contract negotiations when the budget troubles came to light. Talks on a lengthier contract are ongoing.

Fire union president Bryan Sky-Eagle said the union may vote on the interim contract later this week; City Council is expected to vote March 12.

"At the end of the day, firemen know that public safety far out-values any timing of benefits," Sky-Eagle said. "I encourage the firefighters to vote their conscience."

The agreement is intended to head off the need for a "rolling brownout" plan Garrison announced last month in a bid to get the department's overtime under control. The plan calls for firetrucks and ambulances to be idled to avoid filling more than 23 of the department's 832 daily shifts with overtime; the more firefighters were off on any given day, the more units would be parked.

The union balked at the plan and sued the city; the lawsuit would be withdrawn as part of the deal announced Monday.

The most significant staffing change in the deal would prohibit firefighters from using so-called "guaranteed holidays"through the end of the fiscal year. Firefighters get four such days each year and requests to use them cannot be denied by command staff. The problem, fire officials said, is that this time off typically is scheduled only days before it is used, forcing the department to fill those shifts with overtime.

'Holidays' Dilemma

Firefighters have 2,135 guaranteed holidays left to use this fiscal year, City Attorney David Feldman said, the equivalent of $2.4 million in overtime.

Garrison last week began denying firefighters guaranteed holidays under his emergency powers, but Feldman said leaving that rule in place for four months without a negotiated agreement would have invited legal action.

If the agreement is adopted, Garrison said, all firetrucks will remain in service as long as there are, on average, fewer than 35 unscheduled absences per day. HFD averaged 40 unscheduled absences per day from March through June last year, said Executive Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann said; an additional 22 people, on average, were on guaranteed holiday during that period.

Illnesses happen, Garrison said, but he asked that firefighters seek relatives' help in handling circumstances that otherwise would cause them to take emergency leave.

"We know that our firefighters -- because they always do -- they're going to step up, they're going to come to work and they're going to defer some of the time they would take off until after the fiscal year," Garrison said. "We don't anticipate having to brownout, but you never know what could take place."

Praising 'a Solution'

Councilman Stephen Costello, who chairs the council's budget committee, cautioned it still is possible vehicles could be idled.

"I'm a little disappointed it's not a long-term solution, but I'm pleased that everyone came to the table and developed a solution," said Costello.

Councilman C.O. Bradford, who has criticized the Parker administration for considering brownouts when cuts could be made elsewhere, welcomed the news.

"The whole idea that we're moving public safety, particularly fire suppression services, back to the forefront of the agenda, that's good," he said.

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