Joy: City of Lubbock continues to make public safety a top priority

As a member of the Lubbock City Council, I have always and will continue to make public safety a top priority, and accusations otherwise are false and misleading.

There is no looming threat to public safety, which is what an op-ed from the Lubbock Professional Fire Fighters Association (LPFFA) published last week claimed. I do not take this allegation lightly, nor do I appreciate being accused of not supporting our first responders, because during my entire time on the City Council, public safety and the well-being of Lubbock’s first responders has been at the forefront of every decision.

The City of Lubbock has ensured Lubbock Fire Rescue remains well trained and prepared for growth. The City Council recently approved $7.645 million for a 20th Fire Station near 141st Street and Indiana Avenue. The upcoming fire station is in the design phase and will be well positioned for more growth in South Lubbock.

More than $10 million of the city’s funds from the American Rescue Plan Act has been allocated to police and fire. Lubbock Fire Rescue is using the ARPA funds to purchase emergency vehicles, a four-story multi-function training prop for increased fire suppression training, 30 Advance Life Support Cardiac Monitors for increased medical capabilities, and a new dive boat.

This fiscal year the City of Lubbock added certification pay of $175 per month for firefighters who are certified paramedics, and $150 per month in assignment pay for firefighters at Fire Station 4 for maintaining and cleaning all the bunker gear. We’re also very proud of the Class 1 Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating Lubbock received in 2018. The Class 1 rating means the City of Lubbock is in the top 1% of all cities classified by the ISO, and it’s based on the fire department’s suppression capabilities including firefighter staffing, training, fire apparatus and equipment and the geographic location of fire stations.

Lubbock Fire Rescue’s 2021 Annual Report showed response times for fire and medical calls in Lubbock were all well below the national guidelines. Average response times from dispatch to arrival for fires last year was 4 minutes and 38 seconds. This is 42 seconds faster than the national standard set by the National Fire Protection Association. I applaud the work at Lubbock Fire Rescue, as well as city leadership for making the necessary investments to make sure every structure in our community can be quickly reached and cared for.

The City of Lubbock has implemented Community Policing in an effort to bring citizens and the police department closer. There are now three new police patrol division stations open and operating, and a new police headquarters is under construction.

The size and scope of the Lubbock Health Department has grown tremendously, and we will soon award the construction contract for a new, much larger, public health facility near 50th Street and Avenue U. Our new Emergency Operations Center opened in 2018, and we just installed 45 outdoor warning sirens across the city that are active.

In my 10 years on the Lubbock City Council, public safety has remained priority number one, and the city made all these investments while the tax rate increased less than three total cents since 2012, the year I was first elected.

I will continue to strongly support every member of Lubbock Fire Rescue, the Lubbock Police Department, Public Health, Emergency Management and all who answered the call to serve.

My belief is the misleading article by LPFFA, a union not in charge of Lubbock Fire Rescue, used scare tactics to demand pay increases. It did not warn of looming threats to public safety like the headline and first paragraph suggest.

Salary increases will be on the table when the FY 2022-23 Budget is proposed to City Council this summer. The City of Lubbock has begun the budget process, and is meeting with each department, including Lubbock Fire Rescue, and LPFFA. Last year the City of Lubbock approved employee raises across the board — highest raises for beginning positions, because like everywhere else, filling positions is difficult right now. This pay raise was part of an effort to attract and retain talent, as City of Lubbock employees were not given a cost of living pay-raise the previous budget year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are 406 sworn personnel and 35 civilian personnel at Lubbock Fire Rescue, and just five fire suppression positions are vacant. The City of Lubbock will hire at least 15 new firefighters when Fire Station 20 opens because we know the men and women at Lubbock Fire Rescue are vital to the city’s growth and prosperity.

The Lubbock City Council continues to prioritize public safety. In the FY 2021-22 budget, expenditures for just police and fire represented 57.5% of the total General Fund budget. Property taxes alone aren’t enough to fund Lubbock’s police and fire departments.

We will discuss pay increases with the brave men and women at Lubbock Fire Rescue in good faith and with respect, and I ask the Lubbock Professional Fire Fighters Association to do the same. I don’t believe an op-ed making false accusations is the right way to start the conversation.

Latrelle Joy represents District 6 on the Lubbock City Council.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Latrelle Joy city continues to make public safety a top priority