La Marque city officials and representatives of La Marque Professional Firefighters Local 3282 met July 10 in the City Council chambers for their third bargaining session on a proposed collective bargaining agreement. The meeting lasted about 35 minutes and ended with the parties agreeing to reconvene the week of July 28–August 2 to continue negotiations and for the city to run financial numbers.

The two sides spent the session reviewing the union’s list of economic and noneconomic requests. The union proposed an across‑the‑board adjustment to certification pay and the addition of new certification pay categories; a shift schedule change from the current model to a 48/96 rotation with shift-change moved from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.; and a three-year cost-of-living adjustment of 2% in fiscal 2026, 2% in fiscal 2027 and 3% in fiscal 2028 (a cumulative 7% over three years as presented by the union). The city said it was not prepared to make firm financial commitments at this meeting and will confirm the union’s figures with the finance department.

The union also requested that Juneteenth and Veterans Day be added to the bargaining unit’s holiday list to match recently added city holidays; that any unspent boot‑allowance funds as of March 1 each year be transferred to the department quartermaster rather than revert to the general fund; and that the annual boot allowance be set at $200 per employee. The union asked that the EMS captain and the deputy fire marshal be formally included in Local 3282 membership; negotiators said the EMS captain had been overlooked in a prior agreement and the deputy fire marshal had been added mid‑contract previously without opening the contract for renegotiation.

On incentive pay, the union asked to increase the annual pack (PAT) test incentive from $1,000 to $2,000, matching the police union’s current arrangement. The parties described the PAT test as a voluntary quarterly physical‑agility test established by department practice; negotiators said the department offers testing days each quarter for members to attempt the test on their off time. Department representatives said average completion times have improved since the program began.

City negotiators explained operational reasoning for the proposed earlier shift start: moving shift change to 6:00 a.m. is intended to reduce holdover and overtime caused by late morning calls and to give firefighters time to avoid peak commute traffic. The city also noted state reporting requirements affecting overtime and patient-care report completion times.

No tentative agreements or formal votes were recorded at this meeting. The city stated it lacks a formally designated chief negotiator at present and said it expects to name a negotiator and prepare formal agenda language at a future meeting; both sides agreed to exchange electronic copies of the union’s proposal documents. The parties discussed scheduling a follow-up meeting during the week of July 28–August 2, with July 29 and surrounding dates offered as options and an 11:00 a.m. start proposed; the city said it would confirm availability with the mayor and finance staff.

The session opened with a public meeting notice that cited Section 551.127 of the Texas Government Code regarding in‑person presence of negotiating teams; the notice also said the meeting would be broadcast on Channel 16 and YouTube. The city and union will return to the table after the city reviews budget impacts and confirms numbers with finance staff.

Items discussed but not decided include certification pay increases and categories; shift model change to 48/96 and start time change to 6:00 a.m.; a three‑year COLA schedule (2%/2%/3%); addition of Juneteenth and Veterans Day to the CBA holiday list; transfer of unspent boot allowance funds to the quartermaster; a $200 annual boot allowance; inclusion of EMS captain and deputy fire marshal in Local 3282; and raising the PAT incentive from $1,000 to $2,000. Each of these items was presented as a proposal to be resolved in future sessions.

Next steps: the city will verify the union’s financial figures with the finance department and the parties will schedule the next bargaining session during the week of July 28–August 2. No formal tentative agreement or city council action was recorded at this meeting; if/when a tentative agreement is reached it was noted that the contract will follow the city’s approval process discussed in the session (one reading for the council item as described by participants).