Your anonymous Houston Fire Department Captain is back with another piece on Houston Mayor Turner.
For those who supported Prob B that reinstated pay parity between HPD and HFD, many firefighters thank you. To any opposed, we respect your opinion. But let me be the first to say that we are at the front of the line of people who are sick and tired of hearing about it.
As of now, it is law, and can anyone here imagine how mad they would be if the law was on their side, but a singular person chose not to enforce it?
Houston Firefighters caused a city financial crisis. I’m sure of that. At least, thats what I’ve been told.
Since this financial crisis, the City of Houston has hired 602 employees, started a HPD cadet class, and it has been uncovered that $400 Million dollars of taxpayer money was spent on…. well, we don’t know really where that was.
$2 million has gone to legal fees suing the group that passed an ordinance. More will be spent as the city just lost to Dolcefino Consulting fighting open records requests.
No “funding source” was presented over the past 8 years of police department raises totaling 38%.
No funding source was presented for the next round of raises for police.
No “funding source” was presented to pay the salary of the City of Houston Office Education Director… who is in charge of actually…. nothing? A city has zero control over schools.
I sigh, shake my head, and let it rest with my elbows on my knees.
If nothing else comes from this I hope that this page “Big Jolly” and a lot of people here that I share like minded politics with, will see through what is happening at 611 Walker (City Hall). Maybe it is us, firefighters, that will have to he a sacrificial lamb to begin to wake up a majority in Houston that have sat idly by. All the while a select few have hoarded and spent your money at their whim…. to campaign contributors, friends of friends, heck to the law firm they will return to and have access to their accounts.
I hope things come to an end. No one more than me cares less to see Houston Firefighters in the news when they are talking about pay. I want to get back to being in the background and being there when people need me. Nothing more, nothing less.
I hope that we can come to a resolution without media, and facebook, and news bleeps etc etc. i think the public would be surprised to the extent that we would be willing to sacrifice now, to help everyone… well, that IS what we do. We just need a little help from the mayors office to get there.
As for the next election…
The current president ran a successful campaign off a “drain the swamp” motto.
Well, we are a swamp, and we do have a drainage problem.
“reinstated pay parity”?
I do not recall in the Prop B campaign that there was a ‘reinstatement’