Tag Archives: HFD

Appeals court reverses ruling about pension retiree information

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. A state district court’s 2013 ruling that Houston’s fire pension board must turn over detailed information on its retirees to help city officials better project future pension bills has been overturned on appeal. Justices with the … Continue reading →

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Don’t look for a meet-and-confer bill in the Lege this year

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about the city and the county preparing to play defense during the legislative session is this update on the state of relations between the city and the firefighters. In her first two sessions, Houston Mayor Annise … Continue reading →

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Firefighter pension board makes an offer to the city

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. The trustees of Houston’s firefighter pension, who for years have fought the mere mention of changes to benefits as Houston’s enormous pension burden has continued to grow, now are shopping a compromise proposal. Fire pension leaders say … Continue reading →

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Parker proposes new firefighter pension plan

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about this. With the city of Houston facing huge and rising pension costs, Mayor Annise Parker on Thursday unveiled a proposal to put new firefighters in a separate, less generous plan that would do away with expensive automatic … Continue reading →

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At an impasse

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t look like there will be any new collective bargaining agreement between the city and the firefighters this year. Houston’s firefighters union declared an impasse with the city over a new labor contract, which a union negotiator called a “slap … Continue reading →

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Back to the drawing board for the city and the firefighters’ union

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t expect much at this point. Negotiators for the city of Houston and its firefighters union will return to the bargaining table to discuss a new labor contract weeks after union members soundly defeated the last proposed deal, Mayor Annise … Continue reading →

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City exploring new pension for new firefighters?

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Long concerned about the cost of Houston’s pensions and stymied in her attempts at reform, Mayor Annise Parker is considering a dramatic step to place new firefighters into a separate, less generous pension plan, sources with knowledge of the … Continue reading →

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Firefighters union rejects contract deal

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The contract rejected Tuesday by 93 percent of the roughly 2,900 firefighters voting would have taken a similar approach, granting a pay raise in exchange for concessions on members’ ability to take leave. With the no vote, as of … Continue reading →

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City reaches contract agreement with firefighters

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Give a little, get a little. Houston firefighters would give up some of their ability to schedule time off in return for a pay hike under a tentative new labor contract that city officials hope will enable them to rein … Continue reading →

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Fearing the fire reform

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Rumblings of coming reforms in Houston Fire Department’s operations have union leaders and the department’s command staff wary, despite Mayor Annise Parker’s insistence that these concerns are unwarranted. HFD’s staffing shortage has driven up overtime … Continue reading →

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We have our first HFD rolling brownout

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And nothing bad happened. Three Houston firetrucks were pulled from service Friday morning, the first “brownout” in the city’s fire fleet since the Houston Fire Department’s budget struggles came to light in early February. In keeping with a plan Fire … Continue reading →

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Firefighters union ratifies no-brownout agreement

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Members of the Houston firefighters’ union have signed off on a deal with Mayor Annise Parker that would prevent pulling firetrucks from service to help balance the Fire Department’s budget. “We’re very pleased that the union membership ratified the … Continue reading →

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HFD union reaches a deal with the city to avoid “rolling brownouts”

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association (HPFFA) President Bryan Sky-Eagle joined Mayor Annise Parker this morning to announce a tentative agreement on an interim contract that will avoid the brown-outs of fire apparatus proposed earlier to solve an … Continue reading →

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Firefighters union sues city to block cutbacks

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Houston firefighters went to court Tuesday in an effort to block the city from removing personnel, trucks and ambulances from service. But a judge rejected their argument that the “rolling brownouts” plan violates the union’s collective … Continue reading →

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HFD’s budget problems

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard of this by now. The safety of Houston’s citizens and its firefighters will be compromised over the next four months as the fire department limits the number of personnel on duty and removes trucks from service … Continue reading →

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City sues HFRRF again

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In the face of growing concern about its ability to meet long-term retiree pension obligations, the City of Houston filed a lawsuit today against the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), one of three pension systems … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For Calvert

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s second endorsement on Friday, and what should be their last for the regular election, was for Rogene Calvert in At Large #3. Experience is valuable on Houston City Council. Council members often spend their first two-year term learning … Continue reading →

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A deeper look at the city’s pension funds

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate this just-the-facts analysis of the city’s pension funds. It’s delightfully free of fearmongering and doomsaying, which tend to cloud most stories on the funds. I don’t have anything specific to say about the article, but I do want … Continue reading →

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We must destroy the pensions in order to save them

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with this I almost don’t know where to begin. Houston is the Titanic – it certainly looks impressive, but icebergs lie ahead. That’s the image that mayoral candidate Ben Hall drew when he talked to the … Continue reading →

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Hall and the firefighters

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ben Hall has the support of the firefighters’ union. He has also criticized Mayor Parker for not doing enough to deal with the financial stability of the pension funds. How does he reconcile these two seemingly contradictory positions? Not surprisingly, … Continue reading →

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The Chronicle is very disappointed in you, Houston delegation

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are throwing a hissy fit to express their deep sense of disappointment. Just shy of 6,000 bills were filed in the Texas Legislature prior to last week’s deadline. Nearly half of those came in the usual blizzard of … Continue reading →

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City pension funds make their case

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This deserves more visibility than it’s gotten. Representatives of Houston’s three employee pension boards told a Houston City Council committee Monday that the sky is not falling and pleaded with council members to be patient in examining the city’s pension … Continue reading →

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Interview with Todd Clark and Chris Gonzales of the firefighters’ pension fund

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have written numerous times about the ongoing battle between Mayor Parker and the Houston Firefighter’s Relief and Retirement Fund, which is to say the firefighters’ pension fund. After I noted a legal victory by the city in its attempt … Continue reading →

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City wins access to firefighter pension information

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox, late Friday afternoon. Mayor Annise Parker today announced Judge William Burke of the 189th District Court of Harris County has mandated the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF) Board to provide and disclose information requested by … Continue reading →

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Council approves funding for sobering center

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. City Council agreed Wednesday to spend $4.3 million to outfit a warehouse at Star of Hope Mission and $353,000 a year to operate it as a place to take drunks instead of jail. City officials expect the 84-bed facility … Continue reading →

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Here comes the pension fight

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking forward to it. A day of reckoning has arrived in Houston, the city’s financial stewards say, to choose between pensions and pothole repairs. Days after voters in two California cities curbed public employee retirement benefits and voters in … Continue reading →

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City sues firefighter pension board

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this was coming. The city of Houston sued the firefighters pension board in state District Court on Wednesday in an effort to pry open the retirement system’s books for a look at supporting data behind the $61 million … Continue reading →

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If you can’t specify it, it’s not wasteful

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After reading this op-ed by Todd Clark, the chair of the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (that is, their pension fund), I have decided to adopt two rules for all future discussion of the city’s budget. Let me speak … Continue reading →

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It’s always easier to talk in the abstract

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The city of Houston has been papering over multimillion-dollar budget deficits for nine years by borrowing money, tapping its rainy day fund, selling buildings and just plain putting off bills to the … Continue reading →

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A bit of perspective on pensions

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker and current members of Council will receive pensions from the city some day. They also will some day vote on what steps the city should take to deal with the pension system. Is that a problem? “Whenever you’re … Continue reading →

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Interview with Fernando Herrera

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For what I really do think will be my final interview with a candidate for municipal office, I bring you Fernando Herrera, who was the first declared opponent for Mayor Annise Parker. Herrera is a Deputy Chief with the Houston … Continue reading →

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HFD ratifies deal with city

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It was a close vote, but the deal they reached in March was ratified. Union members passed the contract by a 1,560 to 1,391 vote. The deal saves 236 firefighters from layoffs in 2012, but concessions include a two-year pay … Continue reading →

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The Mayor and the firefighters

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the tone of this, I wouldn’t make too much of it. While looking for tens of millions of dollars through a combination of cuts, deferrals, savings and fee hikes, Mayor Annise Parker repeatedly has identified the Houston Fire Department … Continue reading →

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The city’s 2012 budget

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Cuts, deferred payments, and more cuts. Mayor Annise Parker, facing what she described as the toughest fiscal environment in more than 20 years, on Thursday proposed a $1.8 billion budget that calls for laying off 747 employees, closing pools and … Continue reading →

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