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PATRICK M.LANCTON

PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS

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ASSOC1ATtON LOCAL 341

DIRECTOR

EST. 1932

July 24, 2018
Hon. Sylvester Turner
Houston City Council
City of Houston
P.O. Box 1562
Houston, TX 77251
RE:

City’s Ministerial Duty to Put Firefighter Pay Parity Initiative on Ballot

Dear Mayor Turner and Members of City Council,
The men and women of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association urge you to follow the
Texas state law and not conflate the upcoming, last-minute Budget and Fiscal Affairs (BFA) meet
ing with the City of Houston’s ministerial duty to place the firefighter pay parity initiative on the
November 2018 ballot.
We believe the upcoming BFA meeting is another cynical political stunt to attempt to deny Hou
ston voters their right to successfully petition the City and vote on this issue. We also remind you
that our provision of hundreds of thousands of dollars of research and budget analysis regarding
pay parity and other fire department issues was repeatedly rejected by the City for more than a
year.
Until now, the city has never linked the firefighter pay parity initiative to any conditional BFA
meeting which we believe to be improper. We also would like the council to be aware this is in
direct contrast to the city’s previous positions. We have further concern this BFA meeting may
lead to concerns and questions regarding electioneering.
Please dispense with the political games and respect the will of Houston voters by putting the
ballot initiative on November 2018 ballot.
ly,

—~IIi

~14

Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton
cc:

HPFFA Board of Directors

1907 FREEMAN STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77009 PHONE (713) 223-9166
EMAIL ADDRESS: HPFFA@LOCAL341.ORG

FAX (713) 237-0912