Kirby City Councilwoman Susan Street was escorted out of a City Hall meeting on Thursday night after pressing municipal leaders over a firefighter pay dispute and unanswered questions regarding the proposed city budget.
Budget Disagreements and Information Access
The Thursday night session unraveled when Street questioned City Manager Brian Rowland over specific line items in the proposed Kirby budget. Street stated she had submitted questions to Rowland prior to the proceedings but failed to receive the necessary information until she arrived at the meeting.
“I’m not voting for a budget where I can’t get answers prior to the meeting or even in the meeting,” Street declared during the heated exchange. “I don’t know why you expect me to just roll over and say yes when we have not had any discussion over these items.”
Mayor Janeshia Grider and Rowland maintained that a pay raise for fire department staff is built directly into the financial plan. However, the proposed budget ultimately failed to pass as tensions mounted.
The Firefighter Pay Dispute
At the heart of the standoff is compensation for local firefighters. Street argued that members of the fire department should earn a minimum of $20 an hour—putting them on par with local police officers—and noted that the department has awaited a pay increase for more than four years.
Street stated she would withhold her support from any spending plan that omitted this specific raise. Rowland pushed back against her approach to municipal finance during the debate.
“As an elected official, you shouldn’t be here cherry-picking (what) departments should get: this department gets 50 cents, this department gets $4. It should be across the board,” Rowland responded.
Administration Fees and Council Removal
The friction persisted later in the evening when the council turned its attention to a proposed administration fee. Street questioned how the extra cost might impact local commerce and deter new commercial investment.
“Why are we going to be able to get businesses in here when they have to pay extra money?” Street asked Rowland.
Following the exchange, a motion was brought forward to remove Street from the meeting. Mayor Grider stated that Street had received multiple warnings before the council held a 4-2 vote approving her removal. Street was then escorted out.
Street, who won election to the Kirby City Council last year, faces a familiar precedent: she was similarly removed from a meeting in July following sharp questioning of city officials.
