Houston Fire and Police Departments $14M Over Budget Before Hosting World Series
Style Magazine Newswire | 10/27/2017, 1:03 p.m.
Mayor Sylvester Turner
Source: ABC13.com
A quick walk around Minute Maid Park tells you security and emergency response is paramount this week. And in the city's emergency operations center, the dozens of cameras pointed downtown only emphasize that point. As Houston police told Eyewitness News, the Houston Fire Department they too are ready to go with extra staff and gear. But through August of this year, police and fire were already more than $14 million over budget. Most of it not Harvey-related, and it is a hole that grows deeper with the World Series coming to town. Mayor Sylvester Turner when asked about the cost of overtime. "We've dealt with big events before, and we will do what we need to do to maintain public safety in this city. You can't nickel and dime that." What will give? The mayor didn't specifiy, but he did acknowledge the cost and the strain it puts on a tight budget. Firefighters know the stress is there too. But the department said it will ask Major League Baseball to foot a large portion of the expected overtime to keep the city safe.
