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All Houston city services are getting significant budget cuts. Parks and Rec is loosing almost a fourth of their budget.

HPD and HFD are loosing 5% each. $30M for PD and $25M for FD. Which means that my FF buddy that got hired and trained over a year ago is soon to be out of a job, months before his probation ran out. They are cutting the least senior people.

What this means for the PD is that all the new guys (which go to patrol first) are getting cut, so that actual number of call responsive officers will go from critically low, to unbearable (IMHO). Chief's are discussing changing service levels in ways such as not investigating minor (read non-injury) accidents, or not checking 9-1-1 hang up calls.

I would also expect the fire dept's ISO rating to lower...which will lead to insurance rates going up.

However, Mayor Parker is still pulling in $209K/yr, which is about 20% higher than what Bill White was earning....

(salary source: http://www.texastribune.org/library/dat ... er/752050/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

gigag04 wrote: However, Mayor Parker is still pulling in $209K/yr, which is about 20% higher than what Bill White was earning....
(salary source: http://www.texastribune.org/library/dat ... er/752050/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"
George Orwell

Suck it up? Houston tax payers have been doing that since the start of the economic downturn. It's long overdue for the city employees to suck it up too.

Parker's $35k raise has little to do with our problem. Bill White made this a sanctuary city, illegal immigration is costing us HUNNDERS OF MILLIONS.
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I have to think that if a five percent cut means the FD and PD are reducing their primary services, then there is a serious mis-allocation of resources in those departments. Maybe time for a new chief or two, our maybe an outside group to review police and fire department budgeting, if the inside staff can't handle it. Big organizations like to wire in as many law- and regulation- based requirements as possible so they can point to them and say "see, the law says we have to fund these", and then also wire the pay scales if possible, so the "only" place to cut is the number of personnel. Then try to scare people with withdrawing patrols and fire stations from neighborhoods.

Yeah, the Mayor and other big shots should lead and take a pay cut, but that's not what is causing new patrol officers to get the ax. Neither is the 5% cut.

When the economy gets worse, crime rates rise. Just something to consider.

gigag04 wrote:When the economy gets worse, crime rates rise. Just something to consider.

Which makes the investment in CHL and family defense seem a wise decision.

gigag04 wrote:When the economy gets worse, crime rates rise. Just something to consider.

Why is that?

The economy is currently bad, it has affected my family just like everyone else, yet.... I haven't become a criminal!

flintknapper wrote:

gigag04 wrote:When the economy gets worse, crime rates rise. Just something to consider.

Why is that?

The economy is currently bad, it has affected my family just like everyone else, yet.... I haven't become a criminal!

A few of my theories:

Drug use goes up, so boosters have to "work" more.

Money is harder to come, so burglaries go up.

More people sitting around depressed, and stressed, so assaults go up. Same with child abuse.

Of course the "shoplifting out of necessity" rises.

The city of Houston has been on this track for many years now and it falls soely on the knuckleheads who keep electing folks that believe in government hand outs. The mayor of Houston just selected the police chief after being elected not even two years ago. A new police chief or fire chief is not going to help when they simply don't have the funds available to them. Houston is the 4th largest city in the United Sates. After the 2020 Census it will be 3rd passing up Chicago. It takes quite a bit of cash to protect a city that size and the leaders of Houston for too long have been giving it away to a bunch of dead beats and illegals! Garuntee when the response times increase or the first responders don't even show up these knuckleheads will be crying and blaming the PD and FD leaders instead of looking in the mirror for who to blame.

Rant Finished.

flintknapper wrote:

gigag04 wrote:When the economy gets worse, crime rates rise. Just something to consider.

Why is that?

The economy is currently bad, it has affected my family just like everyone else, yet.... I haven't become a criminal!

Maybe that is because you are built like a gun with built in safeties. Maybe when you were little your parents taught you right from wrong, not people owe you this or that and this is wrong if.

The City of Houston's property tax income increased over a decade at a rate of 10% a year, with never a mention of a tax rate decrease. So we have a hiccup in the economy and the property tax income stays level for two years (mine is actually proposed to go up 2% this year) And now the city has a crisis.

When the City has to not expand what is the first thing they do: cut, police, fire and parks, naturally.

Meanwhile the part we don't care about, continues to grow.

BTW thanks Mayor Brown for saddling us with unaffordable city pensions forever.

philip964 wrote:The City of Houston's property tax income increased over a decade at a rate of 10% a year, with never a mention of a tax rate decrease. So we have a hiccup in the economy and the property tax income stays level for two years (mine is actually proposed to go up 2% this year) And now the city has a crisis.

When the City has to not expand what is the first thing they do: cut, police, fire and parks, naturally.

Meanwhile the part we don't care about, continues to grow.

BTW thanks Mayor Brown for saddling us with unaffordable city pensions forever.

Actually HFD pensions are separate and funded. They are well managed through the ff union. The mayor is trying to get her grubby little hands on it to cover the rest of the city's screwed up, mismanaged retirement accounts. They shouldn't have raided those funds to cover non-retirement expenses.

Carry-a-Kimber wrote:Parker's $35k raise has little to do with our problem. Bill White made this a sanctuary city, illegal immigration is costing us HUNNDERS OF MILLIONS.
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If you're you're working (or doing your BEST to BE employed)... If you're paying taxes... If you're a productive member of our society and making every attempt to do it all for yourself and your family then... Good job thanks for doing your part...

BUT... If you're on the dole and think you're entitled and think your actions don't contribute to the "Necessary Budget Cuts" you're not dealing in reality and until we address this we and our families that aren't taking advantage of the system and the handouts made worse by these "Sanctuary Cities" we should expect the problems only to get worse...

Dallas Parkland Hospital spent over 70 million dollars in care for illegal anchor babies... That doesn't account for ER admissions etc... Just sayin'

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I grew up in Houston... Sure am glad to be in Fort Bend County now.