City of Houston v. Clark

In this case, we must decide whether Chapter 143 of the Local Government Code, known as the Fire Fighter and Police Officer Civil Service Act, authorizes municipalities to appeal adverse decisions of independent hearing examiners. We hold that it does. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment of dismissal and remand the case to that court for consideration of the City of Houston’s appeal.

I. Background

Donald Clark, a senior fire alarm dispatcher for the Houston Fire Department, was suspended for fifteen days without pay for violating basic dispatch protocols. His error caused…