By Associated Press - Wednesday, January 16, 2019

HOUSTON (AP) - A contentious battle between Houston and its firefighters over pay raises remains unresolved.

But the two sides say they’re open to figuring out how to implement a measure that would give firefighters pay parity with city police officers.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the firefighters’ union met Wednesday to discuss the measure, approved in November by voters.

Turner says the city can’t afford the measure’s more than $100 million annual price tag and asked the union to consider phasing in its pay raises over several years.

Turner says if the city implements the measure as it stands, it will likely result in hundreds of layoffs.

Union attorney Troy Blakeney says firefighters are willing to meet as often as possible but want to hear specific proposals from the city.

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