HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 123 REPOLUTION' FILE No. L�---
R E S 0 L U T I 0 N
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Texas is currently considering
an act known as "The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act"; designated as
S.B. 35 and H.B. 185; and
WHEREAS, such proposed legislation, as submitted will severely restrict
the authority of the locally elected City Council by authorizing an arbitrator
or district judge to make decisions fixing and determining the wages, hours
and working conditions of firemen and policemen and ultimately, the tax rate
of the City of Fort Worth; and
WHEREAS, decisions to be made under the Act would by specific provision
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of the Act, be made without consideration of the City's financial condition
and would be made by an arbitrator not responsible to the citizens of Fort
Worth who quite likely might not live in the City of Fort Worth; and
WHEREAS, the Act as submitted includes within the bargaining unit all
employees of the Fire and Police Departments with the sole exception of the
Chief, which provision is contrary to practice in private industry and in
many other states whereby the Chief is allowed a non-union management and
supervisory team, which is essential to an effectively administered fire or
police department; and
WHEREAS, such Act further divests the City Council, which governing body
is elected )3y all citizens of the City, of its exclusive legislative discre-
tion in fixing and determining the wages , hours and working conditions of its
employees and authorizes an arbitration board or court to substitute their
discretion and judgment for that of the duly authorized City Council on a
purely legislative matter; and
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WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth has been responsive in recognizing
the need for adequate pay and good working conditions for firemen and
policemen and has authorized in the 1972-73 adopted budget an eleven
' per cent pay raise for these employees; and
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth over the past ten years has increased
the starting pay for policemen and firemen by more than 94 per cent; and
WHEREAS, the experience in other states which have binding arbitration
laws for public employees has been that their cities' financial conditions
in many cases result in the necessity of reducing vital city service levels
by laying off employees to finance salary awards given by outside arbitrators;
and
WHEREAS, there is also before the Legislature Senate Concurrent Resolu-
tion 20, which provides for an orderly review of the entire area of Public
Aft Employee Labor Relations and calls for the appointment of a special commis-
sion to study and recommend appropriate action, instead of enacting special
piecemeal legislation:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Fort Worth City Council
expresses its firm opposition to "The Fire and Police Employees Relations
Act" now being considered by the Legislature of the State of Texas; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature be requested to oppose such
Act and be encouraged to support SCR-20.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
S. G. Johndroe, Jr. , City Attorney
ADOPTED 9-0