Negotiators for the La Marque Police Association and city officials continued talks over a one-year contract, focusing on a restructured pay-step plan, payout of comp time, a uniform allowance, and the timing of schedule changes.

John Kerr, lead negotiator for the Combined Law Enforcement Association and representing the La Marque Police Association, said the association had created a hybrid spreadsheet based on the city’s cost analysis and would present a counterproposal that restructures step progression to speed raises for early-career officers and give all bargaining-unit members pay increases. “We’re asking the city to add to their figure $42,000 so they could fund the pipeline that we … place in front of you,” Kerr said.

The association’s proposal would accelerate step increases at lower tenure levels (for example, adding a two-year step cadence instead of three years) and modestly reduce the top-end step schedule to fund broader increases across corporals, sergeants and lieutenants. Kerr said the association’s plan would cost roughly $35,000–$40,000 more than the city’s calculation and that the association was prepared to limit its negotiating focus to the pipeline (pay structure) if that helped reach agreement on pay now.

Barbara Hollick, interim city manager, told negotiators the city had frozen civilian hiring except for critical positions to free funds for raises and said the administration does not have the additional $42,000 the association requested. “The money that we’ve proposed is the money that we have,” Hollick said. Hollick and other city representatives described the city’s current pay proposal as about $253,000 in additional budgeted costs for police pay; negotiators discussed association estimates that placed the difference between the city and association proposals in the low five figures.

Negotiators also discussed non-salary contract terms. The association and city agreed in principle to a monthly payout for comp time (rather than an annual lump sum) and to keep the uniform allowance as currently structured but paid monthly. On schedule changes, the city proposed reducing the prior 24-day notice period to 12 days for administrative personnel only; Chief Randall Aragon confirmed the change was intended for administrative/officer roles that must attend meetings and not for patrol or detective shifts. “It’s not gonna be the shift officer … it’s gonna be admin,” Aragon said when clarifying who the change would affect.

Both sides discussed appointed positions the association had requested (two captain-level appointments). City negotiators said those positions are not funded in the current budget and recommended deferring that discussion until next year. The association indicated it would consider postponing the appointment request to preserve money for immediate across-the-board raises.

On pay percentage, negotiators discussed a 7.1% across-the-board figure; association representatives said they could take a 7.1% package to membership given the city’s fiscal constraints. Negotiators agreed to continue language work on the administrative shift-change provision and expected to exchange amended contract language ahead of a tentative agreement.

Next steps: negotiators scheduled a follow-up meeting for the tenth of the month at 9 a.m. to exchange final language and, if both sides concur, sign a tentative agreement for ratification. Hollick noted the City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays and that ratification by the council would need to occur before the council’s later meeting in the month if the parties are to finalize the contract on the timetable discussed.

Why it matters: the talks address pay structure and retention for sworn officers, the distribution of limited budget resources and several operational items (comp time payout, uniform allowance, and how short-notice schedule changes will be applied). The principal unresolved item at the session was the roughly $35,000–$42,000 difference between the association’s restructured pipeline and the city’s current budgeted proposal.