This story has been corrected to reflect that the College Station city council is scheduled at its March 26th meeting to discuss in private, state laws regarding the local firefighters union interest to ask voters to recognize the union as a civil service organization. This story also adds a statement from the city of College Station.
This Thursday (March 26) is the College Station city council’s first meeting in a month.
The nearly 1,300 page agenda does includes a discussion in private about the interest of some firefighters to ask voters to recognize them as a civil service organization with the ability to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.
The agenda includes discussion with the city attorney in executive session about Texas local government code 143, which is titled Municipal Civil Service for firefighters and police officers, and local government code 174, which is titled Fire and Police employee relations.
Click HERE to read and download Texas local government code 143.
Click HERE to read and download Texas local government code 174.
College Station city councilmen William Wright and David White and deputy city manager Jeff Capps shared on WTAW’s The Infomaniacs their thoughts about firefighter union activity.
As of March 24, there has been no announcements on the Facebook page of the College Station Professional Firefighters Association.
And on March 13, WTAW News invited a comment from the regional vice president of the International Association of Firefighters that includes Texas.
On March 10th, a city spokesman sent the following statement to WTAW News:
“The City of College Station is grateful for the dedication of our Fire Department and all City employees who serve our community every day. Thanks to their hard work, the Fire Department and City organization are the best in the state. Since 2020, support from citizens, the City Council, and the City administration has increased the Fire Department’s budget by 65%. That funding has helped us hire more firefighters, raise base pay by 19.5%, add a 7.5% step increase, boost paramedic incentive pay, upgrade our fleet, provide more training, and open a new station this fall that was approved by voters. We achieved these goals by working together, following a solid financial plan, finding new revenue sources, and reducing costly, unproductive activity.
We only recently learned about the firefighters association’s efforts to pursue civil service and collective bargaining. We continue to review the Texas Local Government Code and will carefully consider how these potential changes could affect our 132,000 residents and more than 1,000 City employees, including 189 sworn and 206 total Fire Department positions. Our focus is on a data-driven approach that protects long-term financial stability for our taxpayers while offering competitive pay, benefits, and resources for first responders and all City employees. This responsible practice has benefited both the community and the City organization.
We are committed to providing our firefighters with complete and accurate information, as many have requested, and offering a way to share their thoughts with City leadership, if they choose. As required by the Texas Local Government Code, any changes regarding civil service and collective bargaining will ultimately be decided by College Station taxpayers through a referendum.”
Click below to hear visits with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia and Jeff Capps, and WTAW’s Will Welch visits with William Wright and David White.
Listen to “College Station city officials respond to firefighters union activity” on Spreaker.