Voters in Frisco will soon decide in a local election if the balance of power between the city and its firefighters should shift.
TheFrisco Firefighters Association says the fire department needs more staff. The association is asking voters to pass two public safety propositions in an upcoming local election to help them get that. But Frisco city leadership says the propositions would do more harm than good.
The first public safety proposition on the ballot would adopt a civil service system for the Frisco Fire Department. It’s supposed to give government employees more due process and protect them from political influence. Cities with a civil service system have a commission that employees can ask to rule on disciplinary actions and firings. It also comes with a testing system for hiring and promoting employees.
The second proposition is for collective bargaining rights. That allows someone from an employee union — in this case, the Frisco Firefighters Association — to negotiate on the behalf of employees with their employer on wages and working conditions. The law forbids public sector employees from striking.
Only a fraction of Fire Departments in Texas have civil service and collective bargaining rights. The International Firefighters Association said me 34 of the 230 Texas fire departments they represent have successfully adopted a civil service system. Only 29 have collective bargaining rights.
Matt Sapp, the president of the Frisco Firefighters Association, said the Frisco Fire Department isn’t meeting a National Fire Protection Agency staffing standard that recommends fire engines should have at least four firefighters at a time. That’s because of an OSHA regulation that calls for backup to be on scene in case a firefighter needs to be rescued or has trouble breathing.
Frisco city leadership said the Frisco Fire Department meets the National Fire Protection Agency standard by sending another engine to emergencies if more firefighters are needed. But Sapp said that doesn’t actually meet the National Fire Protection Agency’s requirements.
“Do they meet the number of personnel showing up on scene if they're sending half the city over here? Of course,” he said. “But do you want half the city over here when they have other districts to cover because you're not staffed appropriately? That's really the question the citizens need to be worried about.”
The clash over staffing led the association to petition to petition to put civil service and collective bargaining on the ballot.
“We just kind of got to an impasse with the city that doesn't want to work with us,” Sapp said.
He said collective bargaining will give the firefighters a seat at the negotiating table. But city leadership says the firefighters already have a seat at many tables A Frisco city website lists several committees where it says firefighters have a role in shaping policy. According to the city, more than 200 Frisco firefighters sit on 16 committees.
Two firefighters who talked with KERA suggested that having a firefighter on committees is just for show. KERA isn’t naming these firefighters because they’re concerned the city will retaliate against them for speaking out about their concerns.
“It’s a lot of talking, but not a lot of actual process and decision making,” one said.
The firefighter also said the fire department has a cronyism problem. Sapp said a civil service system would help eliminate the Frisco Fire Department’s good old boy network’s impact on promotions and discipline in the department.
Frisco city manager Wes Pierson said he’s concerned about the cost of collective bargaining. He said that meeting the staffing levels the firefighters association is asking for would cost the city $7.2 million. He also said that civil service is too bureaucratic and based on an old law.
“We believe our current rules are actually better situated to meet the needs of our workforce in 2024 than the rules outlined in the civil service legislation that was adopted back in 1947,” Pierson said.
Pierson said the Frisco Fire Department is already highly acclaimed without civil service or collective bargaining. The department received an accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International is 2018 had it renewed in August 2023. He said the department also has the best rating from the Insurance Services Office, which rates fire departments based on things like emergency communications and water supply.
The Frisco Fire Department was one of six departments that the U.S. Fire Administration selected to participate in a national rollout of a new fire information and analytics platform.
Bill Woodard is a member of the Safety First Frisco PAC, which opposes civil service and collective bargaining. He’s also a Frisco city council member. Woodard said the Frisco Fire Department’s involvement with the U.S. Fire Administration’s rollout of a new system shows the department is already operating at a high level.
“You don't get that to ask to be the first to do anything at a national level, unless you're the best of the best, and we've done all that without the need for civil service and without the need for collective bargaining,” he said.
Woodard said collective bargaining leads to an adversarial relationship. And Frisco officials are concerned that collective bargaining could lead to financial strains on the city’s budget in the future beyond what the association is asking for now.
There has been tension across the state over collective bargaining. Houston had eight years of legal battles with its firefighters association over salary because of collective bargaining. Houston’s city council could have to raise taxes if it the council and a judge approve a $650 million settlement.
The city of Arlington ended up in court after it cut benefits for its fire department after they adopted civil service. The court ended up restoring some of the benefits that were cut.
Pierson said Frisco would have to cut benefits to comply with civil service law if the voters approve adopting a civil service system for the city’s fire department. But Sapp said that the Arlington case proves that isn’t true.
Sapp said the staffing issue in the fire department is a matter of public safety. He said the fire department needs more people to meet the increase in calls from the city’s growing population.
“We are the stop gap,” Sapp said. “There’s no 9-1-2. 9-1-1 is who you call. We are the problem solvers.”
Early voting starts April 22 and goes until April 30. Election day is May 4.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For AmericaCorps member for KERA News.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.
