Houston Strategies: Mayor Turner and firefighters agree to compromise on Prop B

Monday, April 01, 2019

Mayor Turner and firefighters agree to compromise on Prop B

After several months of negotiating, Mayor Turner and the firefighters finally reached a compromise on implementing Prop B to get pay parity with the police. Given the City's tight finances, the creative solution involves substantially more paid time off instead of actual salary increases. The City saves money, and the firefighters work fewer hours for the same pay.

To make up for the reduced hours, firehouses will drop from 3 to 2 shifts a day covering 6am to 10pm daily. Fires reported between 10pm and 6am will be gotten to first thing in the morning. The City is recommending that all households add a good couple of garden hoses to their usual emergency supplies so they can keep any nighttime fire outbreaks contained until morning.

The limited hours will also affect emergency ambulance and EMT service. Nighttime emergencies will get service first thing in the morning, but after-hours 911 dispatchers are prepared to help citizens by Googling WebMD as well as finding good relevant YouTube videos to help them self-EMT.

Firefighters hailed the compromise, saying they're looking forward not just to the extra paid time off, but the improved quality of life from finally being able to get a regular good night's sleep. I'm personally pretty excited to stop having fire engine and ambulance sirens screaming down West Gray at all hours of the night!

Police were less enthusiastic, asking why they couldn't get the same hours? They're now considering their own version of Prop B for the November ballot to match the firefighters' paid time off and shifts...

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Hope you enjoyed this year's April Fools post ;-D

Here are previous years if you missed 'em and would like a chuckle: