PHARR — The city of Pharr and the police and fire unions finally put pen to paper Wednesday afternoon after reaching collective bargaining agreements in July.
Members of the city’s police and fire departments gathered on the second floor of the Pharr City Hall for a signing ceremony.
“We are very excited to have these agreements with both of the organizations,” Mayor Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez said during the ceremony. “You guys are the heart and soul of our public safety. You all keep us safe, so we’re very excited about that. It’s always a little tense during negotiations, but it’s ok. From our perspective, and the commission’s perspective, and the city manager’s office, we always will do what’s best for your organizations because we know you guys put your lives on the line every day.”
Each party agreed to three-year contracts that will include a 15% increase in base pay for entry level police officers and 13% increase for firefighters over the next three years, among other stipulations.
“It’s a relief,” Lt. Danny Leal, police union president, said after the ceremony. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re absolutely thankful and grateful that we finally got this done.”
Each entity described the negotiation process as swift and pleasant, with all parties coming to an agreement after three meetings.
“It was extremely smooth,” Leal said. “Like the mayor said, it might have been tense on their side, but for our side we knew what we wanted. We went for it, and the city gladly agreed.”
Michael Navarro, fire investigator and fire union president also expressed gratitude towards the city and the smooth negotiation process.
“I’m very appreciative and very thankful that the city worked with us,” Navarro said. “These were negotiations that took three meetings total. We’re very, very excited to continue this contract. We’re excited that it’s signed. We’re always going to be there for the citizens whether we have a contract or not. We’re going to provide the service we’re expected to.”
HUB PHEST
Following the signing ceremony, the city held a news conference to announce its annual Pharr Hub Phestival.
This year’s event, dubbed “County Boots and Tejano Roots,” is scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 18. The event will feature musical performances by The Band Perry, Bobby Pulido, Steve Valdez and Bo Garza.
“Once our governor lifted all mandates and we saw the (COVID-19) numbers decrease, the city felt that it was about time to get things back to normal,” Michelle Lopez, chief communications officer for the city of Pharr, said.
She said that the city will continue to monitor COVID-19 cases throughout the area as the date draws nearer. As of now, the event is scheduled to go on as planned.
“With cases coming back up, it’s something that they’re looking at, for sure,” Lopez said. “As of right now, everything is scheduled as is. But who’s to say that in four or five weeks things don’t get cancelled? The number of cases — I know they keep rising. We might see some positive numbers coming out of that, maybe a decrease in that. It’s something that we’re looking at and reviewing, but it’s up to our city management and our elected officials to make that final decision.”
