City negotiators and representatives of Local 30-282 signed a tentative term sheet on the 18th to update the La Marque fire collective bargaining agreement, laying out a shift from the Kelly day to a 48/96 work schedule, changes to pay and specialty incentives, and rules for on-call pay and boot allowances, negotiators said.

The agreement is a term sheet rather than a finished collective bargaining agreement. The lead negotiator for the city said the paper “is a tentative agreement term sheet that is not complete” and that the document will be converted into contract language to be sent to the union for ratification and to the city council for final approval, which negotiators said is scheduled to appear on the council agenda the following Monday.

Why it matters: The changes would alter shift patterns, start times and several pay elements for La Marque firefighters if the union and city council ratify the agreement. Those changes affect daily staffing, overtime exposure and monthly specialty stipends for the department’s firefighting and inspection roles.

Key provisions described in the term sheet

• Shift schedule and start time: The term sheet eliminates the Kelly day and moves fire personnel to a 48/96 schedule. The lead negotiator said the shift time “will start now at 6AM.” The negotiators agreed the rotation would be effective Oct. 1 for payroll purposes, with the operational rotation beginning Oct. 12 to align with pay cycles and local shift patterns.

• Cost-of-living and pay timing: Negotiators discussed starting a pay increase on Jan. 1 and proposed a 2% initial adjustment, followed by 3% increases on 10/01/2026 and 10/01/2027. The term sheet also contains a line stating an effective date of 01/01/2026 for pay increases; negotiators acknowledged those dates while finalizing language in the draft.

• Specialty and incentive pay: The term sheet raises multiple specialty pays and incentives. Paramedic incentive pay is increased from $500 to $1,000 (noted to begin 01/01/2026). Other monthly specialty stipends recorded in the draft include: Fire Officer 3 — $25; Fire Officer 4 — $50; Instructor 2 — $25; Instructor 3 — $50; Hazmat Tech — $50; Incident Commander — $75; Residency pay — $300 (up from $2.50 in the draft transcript); Fire Inspector — $100; Fire Cause and Origin — $100; Arson Investigator — $150. (All specialty amounts were discussed as per-month figures in the negotiation session.)

• Boot allowance and unused funds: The boot allowance was raised to $200. The draft states that any boot allowance funds not claimed by employees by March 1 of the applicable year “shall be transferred to the department core master” (language used in the draft). Negotiators confirmed that March 1 is the cutoff date discussed in the meeting.

• Definitions and coverage: The employee definition in the draft is amended to expressly include the EMS captain and the deputy fire marshal positions.

• Fire marshal on-call and standby pay: The draft provides that employees designated as the on-call fire marshal for a weekend shall receive four hours of pay at their regular rate when designated as the primary on-call. During discussion negotiators clarified that standby/on-call hours are paid at straight time unless the employee is called in; if called in, the employee is paid at their overtime rate. The parties asked staff to clarify the draft language to reflect that distinction.

Process, next steps and signing

Negotiators said the term sheet is intended to be converted into full contract language that will go to Local 30-282 for ratification and then to the city council for approval. The lead negotiator instructed staff to print copies; negotiators signed the local union signature block at the meeting, with Cody Chandler to sign as union president and the city lead negotiator signing for the city. Copies were to be retained by negotiating staff and Matteo (staff) was to receive a copy.

What was not decided or remains unclear

• Some effective dates and the payroll timing were discussed at length and differ in parts of the draft; negotiators asked staff to clarify the exact payroll action and effective dates so that incentive payments would appear in the first applicable check after the stated effective date.

• The draft uses the phrase “department core master” as the recipient of unclaimed boot allowance funds; negotiators did not clarify that phrase in the session and the term appears as written in the draft.

Quotes from the meeting

“We're eliminating the Kelly day, and we're shifting to a 48 96 work schedule,” the city lead negotiator said while walking through the term sheet.

The lead negotiator described the document as “a tentative agreement term sheet that is not complete” and said staff would convert agreed changes into binding contract language for union and council ratification.

Ending

The tentative term sheet was signed by negotiators at the meeting and will be forwarded to Local 30-282 for ratification and to the La Marque city council for final approval, negotiators said. Implementation of specific pay changes and the shift rotation will depend on the ratification timeline and clarified payroll effective dates.