Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

Tag Archives: pension funding

Houston Loses Battle to Unilaterally Restructure Firefighter Pensions

A Texas appellate court has denied the appeal of the City of Houston in its efforts to unilaterally restructure its firefighter pension system to save money. The city sued the Houston Firefighters' Relief & Retirement Fund in 2014 claiming that pension costs were driving it toward bankruptcy seeking a declaratory judgment that the pension arrangement was unconstitutional.

Lawsuits Filed Between Fire Departments and Municipalities in Illinois and New York

Lawsuits between municipalities and fire departments in two states are in the fire law news today. In New York, the Champion Fire Department is suing the Town of Champion and the Village of West Carthage over the termination of its service agreement. In Illinois, the Village of Barrington filed suit against the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District claiming it owes at least $1.2 million to a joint firefighters pension fund.

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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