Midland City Council takes next step in Fireman Pension Reform plan

MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The Midland City Council took another step toward reforming the firemen pension plan on Tuesday when it approved a memorandum of understanding.

The unanimous approval meant the City would send a bond to the public, depending on if firefighters agree to cut their benefits by at least 5 percent.  Midland Mayor Lori Blong said any bond vote would require compromise.

“This council does not want to do the bond, but we do recognize that the cash that the city has on hand is insufficient to make a solution without the firefighters making much more significant cuts.”

As part of the memorandum, Blong also said the amount the firefighters cut remains up to them.

“If the firefighters would like to come back and make additional cuts, then we will move forward with that as well.”

Several Midland citizens spoke during the meeting on the issue – but no firemen. Jesse Martinez, the President of the Midland professional firefighters’ association, released a statement after the meeting.

“Our members applaud the Mayor and City Council for taking steps to secure the earned pension benefits and deferred compensation of our members,” Martinez said. “However, we are disappointed that discussion about firefighters’ total compensation did not go further. We will be forced to weigh cuts on benefits that attempted to paper over the low salaries we receive – 25 percent less than the average pay of firefighters at 25 other departments according to the city’s own study.”

A presentation from the city says the firemen will have 12 days to vote on the proposed bond measure. Any potential bond measure for November’s elections would need to be approved before August 19.

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