BEAUMONT, Texas — The City of Beaumont announced upcoming negotiations with Local Union 399 and city employees after a grievance was filed against the city.
(Editor's note: The above video was aired on September 8, 2024 )
"Our commitment to supporting our firefighters and the city staff is unwavering, and we are eager to work collaboratively to ensure their well-being and continued excellence in service to our community," the city said in a release. "Our commitment to public safety is unwavering financially, as public safety alone is approximately half of the city’s general fund budget."
On September 3, the firefighters union filed a grievance against Beaumont after stating that the city refused to fairly negotiate as the fire department experienced budget challenges.
The city responded on by saying "the city remains committed to public safety and looks forward to sitting down with Beaumont Local 399 to work out a fair agreement that will provide just compensation to our firefighters, while also being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers."
The Beaumont Fire Department over-spent its $43.1 million dollar budget by a staggering $2 million.
The city and Local Union 399 are scheduled to meet on October 8th, however, the union does not plan to withdraw the grievance until the meeting happens.
The general fund also includes streets, parks and greenspaces, drainage, libraries, community development, public health, and other departments, according to the release.
Beaumont says they requested the details of the union's request for a new contract on June 14 so that they could incorporate the amount into budget preparations.
However, the union did not share that information, according to the city.
The city is prepared to add those numbers into the budget at any time after the details of a new contract are approved by Local 399 and Beaumont.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.