Cody Lammons is president of the Hurst Firefighters Association, which acts as the sole bargaining agent for most members of the city\u2019s fire department.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to be before we can start the negotiation process,\u201d Lammons said. \u201cWe would like to start as early as possible in order to get the negotiations going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The association is seeking changes to wages, benefits and working conditions, including the current staffing structure. They want more firefighters and some new equipment, like an additional ambulance.<\/p>\n
Hurst City Manager Clay Caruthers<\/a>\u00a0said while the city supports its firefighters \u201c100%,\u201d financial constraints could play a limiting role in responding to those requests.<\/p>\n \u201cThe budget\u2019s just getting tighter, simply put,\u201d Caruthers said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got difficult programmatic and service level choices that we\u2019re going to need to make moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n In\u00a0city materials<\/a>\u00a0released before the Nov. 4 special election, officials noted that the fire department already receives benefits including life insurance, healthcare and a 48\/96 (two days on, four days off) shift schedule. The materials noted that taxes could increase, or other city services could see cuts in response to the outcome of the negotiations.<\/p>\n Caruthers said while he wasn\u2019t surprised to see voters support the measure granting collective bargaining rights, he was surprised that it came during a time when Texans are also thinking about local government tax reform.<\/p>\n Lammons said the association\u2019s goal isn\u2019t to make costly demands.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to have an impact on another department, and we certainly don\u2019t want to do anything to raise the taxes of our citizens that support us so much,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lammons said it was humbling to collect petition signatures from the public, and to watch election results roll in that showed \u201coverwhelming support.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was very surprised and happy to see that we won by the majority that we did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lammons said the association aims to be \u201cas transparent as possible\u201d with the public throughout the negotiation process. Caruthers said members of the public should keep an eye on city council agendas for collective bargaining-related items.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
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