LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – District 4 Councilman Tim Green brought a budget proposal of his own during one of his first meetings on the dais, calling for the city to deny the agreement brought forward by the Lubbock Professional Police Association.
“They did give us a plan and a proposal. It was a bad one, it was not a good one, and we don’t have to accept it. We can’t modify it, but we can suggest something else.”
The Lubbock Professional Police Association is asking for a one-year deal that would include 10 new patrol positions and a five percent raise for Lubbock’s sworn officers. That proposal would be about $3 million more than if the city only implemented three percent raises.
“My job is to protect the citizens of Lubbock. Police officers, firefighters, and especially their pocketbook. And that’s what I’m looking at,” Green said.
Green compared the police association’s proposal with the one brought forward by the Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association.
The Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association brought forward a deal to move to a 24/72 shift over the next six years. With that change and raises included, it’s about $1.5 million more than if the city only implemented three percent raises for firefighters.
“The employees know exactly where they’re going to be, they can plan, they can plan their lives around knowing what kind of raise they’re going to get,” Green said.
Mayor Mark McBrayer thanked Green for his work on the proposal but said he doesn’t plan on voting that way.
“I’ve been advocating and I ran on adding new police officers. So, I’ve really, in my mind, I have to see a plan that adds police officers this year as a priority,” McBrayer said.
District 1 Councilwoman Christy Martinez-Garcia agreed, mentioning the idea behind meet-and-confer is to hear directly from the officers.
“We work with these departments. We get their input on what they need. And this city is growing. And whether we want to face that growth or not, we are like gearing towards 300,000 people very soon,” Martinez-Garcia said.
Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Wilson said she doesn’t see herself voting to add firefighter positions and not police positions, either, but she also thanked Green for his suggestions.
“I definitely appreciate one of the kind of, the foresights that you’re having on more of a long-term agreement. And I would definitely encourage our police association next year potentially to bring a longer agreement because it does help with future planning,” Wilson said.
City Manager Jarrett Atkinson presented four possibilities of how this could affect residents. The city’s proposed budget with three percent raises for fire and police would cost the average homeowner about $80 more in property taxes. If the city accepts both meet-and-confer agreements, the average homeowner would pay about $107 more.
The first vote on the budget and both meet-and-confer agreements is Tuesday, September 1.
“Everybody up here has their own opinions about what needs to be done. And we’ll have, unfortunately, just about a week to figure that out,” McBrayer said.
The mayor said if residents have an opinion on this, now is the time to call him or their councilmember and let them know what they want to see.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.