Mayor Sylvester Turner sent a letter to Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 341 President Patrick “Marty” Lancton after their in-person meeting this morning about the implementation of Proposition B, which granted firefighters a 29 percent salary increase without a funding source. The letter is here (.pdf).
Full text:
Dear Marty:
I invited you to meet with me today to discuss phasing in Prop B. We talked about possible common ground, and we agreed to meet again next week to allow the City to do some additional work.
At the end of our meeting, you delivered a copy of a letter. I now know that you had prepared and publicized the letter before our meeting, without the benefit of our discussion.
The letter is not consistent with our discussions. While I think such “tactics” are not helpful, I will nevertheless be prepared to meet again next week.
I hope you will refrain from further steps that will undermine my effort to find common ground.
As I have said repeatedly, I do not want to lay off anyone. This requires your agreement on a path forward that the City can afford.
