Houston Firefighters Get Pay Raise; Mayor Predicts Layoffs

Houston’s firefighters are on the path to “pay-parity” with the city’s police officers.

A Texas judge Dec. 18 lifted a temporary restraining order against a voter-approved ballot measure on pay. The measure, which takes effect immediately, equalizes pay between the city’s rank-and-file firefighters and police officers. It gives city firefighters a roughly 29 percent pay raise at a cost of nearly $100 million per year.

In his decision, Judge Randy Wilson of Texas’ 157th Civil District Court also denied a permanent injunction against the measure. Blocking the pay raise would have made it difficult for the firefighters to recover ...