HOUSTON — At Wednesday’s meeting, members of the Houston City Council said they want more time to go over a proposed collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters union and the city budget for the next fiscal year.
The deal with the firefighters union -- including the settlement for back pay going back to 2017 -- is worth an estimated $1.5 billion.
Council members and the city controller’s office said they had only just received a final copy of the proposal on Monday, less than 48 hours before they were scheduled to vote on it Wednesday morning. Up until Monday, officials had worked off draft copies.
The city budget includes the financial impact of the new collective bargaining agreement and settlement with the union.
Mayor John Whitmire said he's fine with council members needing more time to review.
"The budget was expected to be tagged to give folks additional time, which is great," Whitmire told reporters Wednesday. "(The deal with) firefighters, we thought we'd move on it today. We're polling council members, we're working with them, we've had 22 finance meetings, some members were more involved than others, but it's a real significant proposal."
Council members also want time to add amendments to the budget, including a proposal from Councilman Julian Ramirez to add funding to the Houston Police Department to add a sixth cadet class, on top of the five built into the proposed budget.
Whitmire said he's on board with the idea.
"We're going to find the funds for a sixth cadet class," Whitmire told reporters. "The challenge over at HPD is this having an aggressive, recruiting program that brings very dedicated, qualified young cadets to the city."
Whitmire was also asked about the progress of the search for a permanent chief -- only saying the process remains ongoing.
"We're making progress and we'll get there in a timely fashion," Whitmire said. "Acting Chief Satterwhite is doing a fine job, but we are reviewing all of our options, all the candidates."
The council is set to meet next week to vote on the budget and firefighters union deal.