THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARS IN THE BADGE & GUN,

“The publication of the Houston Police Officer’s Union”

                Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, March 2012

Regardless of your job title, this article, even though it refers directly

to City of Houston employees, the comments probably apply to

a great extent to all state, local, municipal and county employees.

Read it carefullyand share it with your fellow employees orretiree friends.

Senator Whitmire cannot do it alone.  He will need help.  Everyone

must get in the game.  The stakes are large.  Like it or not,

we ALL must “ante up.”  Join the Texans for Secure Retirement (TSRPAC)

with a contribution or contribute to your own employee organization’s

Political Action Committee.

SENATOR WHITMIRE VOWS TO FIGHT PENSION ATTTACK,

  URGES HPOU MEMBERS TO STRENGTHEN THE PAC

By:  Tom Kennedy

State Senator John Whitmire, HPOU’s best friend in the Legislature,

strongly committed to block every effort in the 2013 legislative session

to mess with Houston’s police pension.

“I’m guardedly optimistic that we’re going to resolve this and not allow

anyone to be successful in attacking and destroying the benefit plans

that the current employees enjoy,”  Whitmire told the Badge & Gun.

                ‘MISINFORMATION’

“We’re not going to balance the city’s budget on the backs of pensioners

and current public employees.  It is my commitment to block that.”

“They are putting all the blame on the employee groups.

The pension boards have fiduciary responsibilities to their members.  I’ve

always been impressed on how they do that.”

Whitmire said leaders such as Bill King should quit politicizing the

Houston pension system, “lower their voices” and realize the history of

the state law and city contracts that back each retirement program.

“I think Bill King has unnecessarily politicized it.  He’s frightening

current pensioners and current active employees.  He certainly has been

talking irresponsibly, as has the mayor and others like the Greater

Houston Partnership and the Arnold Foundation.”

Whitmire stated his belief that King often distributes “misinformation”

in the Houston Chronicle articles at a time when the city faces financial

difficulties and King needs ammunition for what might one day be a

mayoral campaign.

“The city’s facing financial difficulties,” Whitmire said.  “But there are

many factors – debts, capital improvements and tax revenues that are

down due to falling valuations.”

“There is nothing, nothing that the city is required to contribute to

municipal, police and the firefighters’ retirements that has not been

agreed to by previous administrations, starting with Bob Lanier.  I was

there.  Kathy Whitmire fought some of the current city obligations

and lost.”

Historically, Mayor Whitmire sought to lower all police benefits and

even succeeded in taking away a pay raise that effectively lowered police

salaries in the mid-1980s.

But, as John Whitmire pointed out, each of Mayor Whitmire’s successors

up until now has supported the state laws affecting Houston’s pensions.

“With Bob Lanier, Lee Brown and Bill White, there has not been one

element of the pensions and the city’s responsibilities to the pension

system that has not passed in Austin,” the senator said.

                Strong PAC Emphasis

“The city could make a lot more progress if they realized they inherited

the pension agreements from previous administrations.  By law the city

is required to deliver those levels of contributions.”

“City government is not a business.  It’s a government function.  They

don’t understand that retirement benefits are part of attracting people

to be police officers, firefighters and municipal employees.”

“They put their lives on the line every day for citizens and expect a very

reliable and comfortable retirement.  They also want a sound city and

certainly a sound retirement system.”

The dean of the Texas Senate also made clear the necessity of a strong

political action committee.  He said:

“But let me emphasize to the readers of the Badge & Gun that it is

really urgent that they support their leadership and they participate in

Union activities.”

“Each and every one of them ought to be supporting their PAC.  They

need to remember that elections matter.  They need to know their

legislators on a first name basis and ought to be talking to their City

Council members and Mayor Parker.”

Whitmire conceded that many of the current elected officials might

not be familiar with the political history of Houston issues in the

Legislature, beginning with the successful 1940’s effort to put police

officers and firefighters under state civil service protection.

Then in the 1980s and part of the 1990s, there were so many issues

involving the Bayou City that the floor of the House and Senate “often

sounded like a Houston City Council meeting,” he said.

Successful changes in laws, including those affecting police officer

pensions as well as the Meet and Confer process, provided the local

control needed to resolve many issues, removing them from Austin and

putting them at the council table where they belong.

                A Deal’s a Deal!

Local politics, however, continues to affect some important issues.

Whitmire said, “A huge part of this (pension) issue has been brought

about by the issue of term limits.”

“Council members make commitments they won’t be around to meet.

I have empathy for the mayor and current council members about

commitments made 15 or 20 years ago.”

“But a deal’s a deal and a contract’s a contract.”

Whitmire urged the mayor and council to find solutions that don’t

affect pensions and obligations set in stone many years ago.

“The city needs to find some more revenue.  The nickel tax rate cut Bill

White did for five years caused the city to lose $100 million.  You want

to support your police and fire with that.  One hundred million dollars

goes a long way toward supporting this (deficit) problem.”

“It was a small tax cut that no one noticed – maybe $7 or $8 on a

$100,000 home.  Mayor White never got a thank you letter for such a

small deduction.  Citywide it meant a lot.  It created a shortfall.”

Sen. Whitmire said, “people support their police officers and

firefighters and would have been happy to keep that $100 million in

place to emphasize that support.”