LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The Lubbock City Council approved new meet and confer agreements with the police and firefighter associations on Tuesday, worth about $7.8 million next year, as part of its budget and tax rate discussion.
Police Association agreement
The council agreed unanimously to a new one-year deal with the Lubbock Professional Police Association. The agreement will support 10 additional officers on the force of more than 450 officers. It also comes with a 5% raise for sworn personnel within the department.
Councilman Tim Green said he would “reluctantly” go along with the agreement, which he suggested be changed at a previous budget work session. He said he realized it was late to change and would work to make what he believes would be improvements for next year.
Firefighters Association agreement
For the first time, the city has entered into an agreement with the Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association. It’s for six years.
One of the biggest parts is changing shifts for crews from 24 on, 48 off, to 24 on, 72 off. Each year the agreement adds about 22 firefighters to make that shift change possible and includes around 3% raises.
Council members said while this will come at great cost, it’s necessary to keep up with evolving responsibilities of fire departments in a growing city and will benefit fire crews mentally and physically.
Budget and tax rate
Those agreements will be part of the larger budget for the city of Lubbock that got initial approval Tuesday, along with the tax rate to help pay for it, although the final vote is still pending.
Mayor calls for reductions in spending
The city manager presented a new budget using the “No New Revenue” property tax rate, requested by Mayor Mark McBrayer. The mayor called for reductions in spending in a few areas, including two new employee positions and the council’s own budget. He’s also counting on an increase in interest earnings and sales tax revenue calculated in the budget.
Still, the average single-family home will see an increase of about $103 on its property tax bill from the city.
Bruegel votes against property tax rate
The council voted unanimously in support of the new budget, with Councilman David Bruegel voting against the tax rate. The council will vote again on the budget and tax rate at its meeting on Sept. 8 in council chambers.
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