BALCONES HEIGHTS, Texas – Whether it’s over finances or a feud, Balcones Heights voters are being asked to decide if their police officers should retain the right to collectively bargain for a contract.
Proposition A is the big issue on the tiny suburban city’s May 3 ballot, with the mayor and the 18-member police department on opposing sides.
While Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr. said his support for the proposition is about fixing the city’s finances, the police officers see it as retaliation.
The Balcones Heights Police Officer’s Association currently has the power to negotiate a contract on behalf of its members in the 18-officer department, including pay and protections during disciplinary processes.
Voting in favor of Proposition A would strip the union of that power. Once its current contract with the city expires in 2027, it would be easier for the city to fire officers and keep their pay down.
Rodriguez, who was mayor from 2000 to 2002 and was elected again last year by a single vote, has been pushing for Proposition A. He declined to speak on camera with KSAT but said his goals are mainly about helping correct the city’s struggling finances.
Despite budget cuts, Balcones Heights expects to run a $789,000 deficit across its various funds this year, taking in only about $8.9 million while spending closer to $10 million.
There are multiple issues at play. The city is on the hook for roughly $400,000 worth of annual debt payments for a 2021 deal to acquire an interest in the Wonderland of the Americas, and the end of the city’s red light cameras in May 2024 means the loss of $450,000 each year.
The police department’s personnel costs total nearly $2 million annually, the highest of any city department.
However, the police union and the police chief said they believe there’s more than money at play.
“It seems to be some type of retaliation against us,” said BHPOA vice president Sharon Rodriguez.
Balcones Heights police chief John Jahanara said he “100 percent believe(s)” the mayor has a grudge against his department and officers.
“We just have not been able to have a civil conversation, and I don’t think we ever will,” Jahanara said of the mayor.
Jahanara said Rodriguez has threatened his job before, an event the union included as part of the reasoning for its September 2024 vote of no confidence against Rodriguez.
The mayor told KSAT the department has been in the news for “rogue officers,” but denied having any personal vendetta against the department.
If the ballot proposition passes, the current contract would still be in effect until 2027, but Rodriguez suggested some officers may decide to leave the department.
“We have to find that security in our job,” Sharon Rodriguez said.
The decision will likely come down to a few dozen ballots. The city’s last election in May 2024 drew only 180 voters to the polls.