Balcones Heights Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr. is pushing a ballot proposition in the city’s May 3 election that would strip the police union of its collective bargaining rights. But he says it’s nothing personal.
“The overall factor is this: fiscal responsibility,” he said. “We can’t afford it. We simply cannot continue to sustain it.”
Balcones Heights, a suburban city of 2,700 people in the midst of San Antonio’s Northwest Side, is in financial trouble. Last year, it spent nearly $1.4 million more than it collected in tax revenue and fees, and it’s likely to finish this year in the red once again. Rodriguez said that makes the next round of police contract negotiations, which would almost certainly include demands for higher pay, potentially too costly. (Officers’ current employment agreement expires in 2027.)…