Houston’s credit outlook has taken a hit after residents earlier this month voted to pay firefighters the same as city police officers. Fitch Ratings this week downgraded the city’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative,” saying the anticipated $100 million annual cost of the Proposition B charter amendment will hamper the city’s spending ability and could lead to a downgrade in the its AA bond ratings in the future.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

A veteran firefighter who came to California from Washington state to fight the Woolsey fire was left with major injuries when he was run over by a pickup truck as he slept at night in a field next to a fire truck in the Malibu area, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday. Terry Geisleman, 46, of the South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Department of Port Orchard, Washington, received crushing injuries to his chest and the left side of his body, a CHP report on the 11:45 p.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Bernardino County Sun

Top Fire Department brass retaliated against two emergency medical services lieutenants due to their “union activity,” a labor board ruled, the Daily News has learned. FDNY Lt. Douglas Rondon was “totally restricted” from duty for an entire year after he reached out to his union president for assistance on potential disciplinary charges.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

While it's a scary trend, it's one that's commonly swept under the rug. First responders are now more likely to die by suicide, than in the line of duty. Each year, the number of men and women in the fire service taking their own lives continues to rise, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC 15 Phoenix

The deadly wildfire that left the town of Paradise, California, in ruins may become a test case for the municipal bond market. “The situation casts doubt on whether the local government can meet over $3.5 million in annual payments to pension obligation bondholders, CalPERS and retiree healthcare plan participants,” wrote Marc Joffe, a policy analyst with the Reason Foundation.
- PUB DATE: 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: BondBuyer.com