The city clerk’s report to city council did not even require a vote.
With a simple explanation of the number of signatures verified, three proposed charter amendments for San Antonio voters moved one step closer to the November ballot.
The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association needed 20,000 valid signatures on each of the three and they prevailed.
“These are very devastating proposals,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “I will knock on every single door I have to, to make sure citizens are educated!"
The mayor said that he took an oath to protect the city and the welfare of the community.
“We hope that people will see when they look into these things that they are universally bad ideas for the city, that will have devastating effects for our community,” Mayor Nirenberg said. “These proposals from the fire union could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, unnecessarily putting our financial systems and our system of government in a state of chaos.”
Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President Richard Perez said that he and the business community he represents stand ready to fight the proposals.
“Our plan is to get involved, heavily, in the education of our citizens as to why these petitions would be so damaging to the long-term health of this community,” said Perez, who called the proposals bad news for San Antonio. “These petitions, should they be approved by the voters of the City of San Antonio, in my opinion, are the worst, and would undermine the functioning, the good functioning of this city government. And I don't know how we could fix it.”
Perez added that the approval of the amendments could jeopardize the city’s AAA bond rating.
“It is so scary! We are the only major city in the United States that has a AAA bond rating. That is because our council and managers make prudent decisions on the finances of the community,” Perez explained.
The Firefighters Association had no reaction to Thursday’s report, but they released the following statement:
“As firefighters we know the calling we have answered, to serve and protect our fellow man, can unfortunately come with the ultimate sacrifice. The knowledge of this still never stops us from our duty. On the night of May 18th, 2017 Scott Deem made this ultimate sacrifice while protecting the citizens of San Antonio. As Scott’s brothers and sisters of the San Antonio Fire Department we have grown closer together than ever before, and bonded in a way fortunately only very few will ever comprehend. Our pledge to the Deem family, and to one another, is that we will continue on with our calling, honoring Scott’s legacy and memory by becoming the best in all things we do. The support and love we have felt from the San Antonio community during this last year has been truly remarkable. We ask that you continue to pray for us as we mark the 1 year anniversary of our brothers’ passing, and rest easily knowing the men and women of the San Antonio Fire Department will always be ready to serve when needed.
Humbly,
Your San Antonio Firefighters”
City council has until August 20 to call for the special election, but that is a formality. The city is required by law to have the issue on the November 6 ballot.
The language on the petitions will be the language on the ballot.
Petition 1 states: “Petition for a City of San Antonio Charter Amendment to Set a Limit on the Appointment, Term of Appointment, and Salary of a City Manager.”
Petition 2 states: “Petition for a City of San Antonio Charter Amendment to Facilitate Voter Use of the Referendum Process.”
Petition 3 states: “Petition for a City of San Antonio Charter Amendment to Require Arbitration, in Lieu of Litigation, in the Event of Impasse in Collective Bargaining.”
The City Attorney provided a lengthy response explaining the implications of today's action:
Prepared by CAO 3/2/18
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Summary of Firefighter Union Petitions
Below please find a description and potential impact of the three petitions seeking to amend the City Charter currently under circulation by the San Antonio Professional Firefighter’s Association.
I. Petition for amendment to use of the referendum process: The petition seeks to expand topics of referendum in Section 35 of the City Charter to include appropriations, levying taxes, setting rates, zoning or any ordinance. It lowers the threshold of signatures from approximately 70,000 to 20,000 and expands timeframe for obtaining the signatures from 40 days to 180 days.
Impact. The referendum petition calling for reducing the number of signatures to 20,000 and expanding the scope of what may appear on a petition to include appropriations, utility rates, and taxes will severely undermine the ability of City Council to consider and implement policy, particularly long term initiatives. Most immediate and severe impact could be to budget decisions, rate adjustments, and taxing initiatives. Electorate would essentially be able to adjust budget items or rate adjustments by referendum thereby undermining the ability to of the City to effectively manage the budget. The uncertainty created by potential changes to revenues and expenditures will certainly negatively impact the City’ bond rating.
II. Petition for amendment to allow the Union to impose unilateral binding arbitration: Currently, the Fire contract follows state law on impasse processes, unlike police who contractually adopted an impasse process. After the commencement of negotiations, state law provides for:
(a) the circumstances determining impasse,
(b) arbitration if
(1) both parties go through mediation and
(2) both agree to arbitration.
The petition seeks to allow the Union unilaterally to declare impasse and unilaterally require binding arbitration upon the City.
Impact. Arbitration procedures are already established under State law which requires action by both Parties before arbitration is called for. The petition would give the Union the unilateral right to call for binding arbitration before any other process requirements, e.g. active negotiations. In short, the Union could call for binding arbitration before any good faith negotiations with the City.
III. Petition for amendment to set a limit on the appointment, term of appointment, and salary of a City Manager: Currently, the Charter provides that Council shall appoint the City Manager and vests in Council the power to determine compensation and term of the City Manager. The petition seeks to require a supermajority vote (8 votes out of 11) to select the City Manager, limit the term to 8 years and limit pay to 10 times the amount of the lowest paid city employee.
Prepared by CAO 3/2/18
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Impact. The City Manager is appointed by and reports to the City Council. The petition setting tenure and salary limits on the City Manager will limit the ability of the City Council to recruit and retain the best talent for the position. Stockholders of major public companies have routinely voted against similar stockholder actions limiting CEO compensation for the very same reasons. The tenure limitation will also limit the ability to recruit and retain talent for leadership positions within City Staff. The limitations on hiring the best City Manager candidate may impact the City’s bond rating.