Council invites firefighters back to meet-and-confer; mayor records lone no vote

The Abilene City Council voted to invite the Abilene Firefighter Association back to meet-and-confer and offered mediator assistance as part of a resolution the council approved on Item 28. City Manager Emily Crawford told the council the resolution would re-engage a process that had worked for about 20 years and noted the city’s interest in preserving firefighter pay and promotional mechanisms.

"The resolution before you is for the council to consider officially inviting the firefighters association to return to meet and confer," Emily Crawford said during the presentation. Legal counsel Stanley Smith advised the council that state law limits promotional lists to one year absent a meet-and-confer agreement and that the city lacks authority to extend that period by ordinance. "What under our prior meet confer agreement, the promotional list was a 2 year list... On April 1, when the meet confer agreement expired, we went back to January," Smith said.

Members of the Firefighter Association urged the council to restore the earlier promotional list. Jared Crockett, president of the Abilene Firefighter Association, said the association conducted a straw poll showing strong member support for keeping the lists in place and urged the council to accept the city’s invitation to negotiate. "We would welcome the chance to come back to the table," Crockett said during public comment.

Council members said they support keeping firefighters competitively paid but must follow state law. The resolution passed after a motion with the council tally recorded; the clerk reported one no vote from the mayor (Mayor Mary Hurt) and the remainder in favor. The resolution includes staff direction to reinitiate meet-and-confer discussions and an offer to use a mediator to facilitate a stable agreement.