Houston to Sell $650 Million Bonds in Firefighter Deal (Correct)

Houston plans to sell $650 million in bonds to settle a firefighters’ pay dispute and the city’s chief financial officer is warning it will swell the annual budget shortfall by as much as 75%.

The fourth-largest US city will need to sell so-called judgment bonds to cover a settlement that Mayor John Whitmire struck with the firefighters’ union earlier this month, City Controller Chris Hollins told reporters Tuesday. Over the 25- or 30-year life of that obligation, interest and other costs will push the total pricetag for taxpayers to more than $1 billion, he added.

Annual interest payments probably will ...