The Stephenville Professional Firefighters Association is hard at work gathering signatures for three items to be put on the November ballot in order to address pay increases.
“We are hoping to get a 1,000 on each, just to show the citizens are supporting us,” Stephenville Professional Firefighters Association President Brandon Sellers said.
Since Texas is a non-union state, associations are often used in that capacity.
The first petition is for collective bargaining, which is a process in place ensuring the city will talk to the firefighters and is a structured process to negotiate.
“We are doing it so we will have a seat at the table, though honestly we have a pretty good relationship with the city manager and council members,” he said.
For this petition, they must collect a signature from registered voters in the city limits who voted in the November 2025 election.
The second petition is for binding arbitration. Essentially, if the association and the city cannot reach an agreement on pay and come to an impasse, a neutral third party can be brought in. In this instance, each side would pay for half of the arbitration.
This petition requires the most signatures since a percentage of the total registered voters within the city limits must be secured.
The third petition is for a pay increase, which would require a raise in taxes – about three cents per $100, equating to a 30% increase in starting pay to all levels on the operations side.
“We think it will take about $750,000 total,” he said.
According to Sellers and information from the association Crowley, Burleson, Weatherford and Cleburne are all starting out their firefighter personnel $15-$18K higher than Stephenville.
Over five years, SFD has had a 76% turnover rate in a state that already has problems with firefighter retention.
“It’s easier to retain, than retrain,” he said. “Stephenville is a great place to work. If you take care of retention, your guys will recruit good candidates for you.”
For those interested in taking a look at the petitions and possibly signing, the association is having a ‘Wine and Sign’ at Hearsay Wine Bar from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, July 10.
You can also reach out through Facebook to contact the Stephenville Professional Firefighters Association.
The petitions are for city of Stephenville Fire and EMS only, and do not apply to law enforcement or county EMS.