La Marque and police association begin CBA talks; city proposes comp‑time cap, phased removal of corporal rank and manager appointments

La Marque city officials and representatives of the La Marque Police Association met June 11 in a public bargaining session to review a package of proposals the city described as economic and non‑economic changes to the police collective bargaining agreement.

The city manager, JB Pritchett, and Chief of Police Randall Erb outlined proposals that would (1) require payout of accumulated compensatory time above 180 hours instead of allowing indefinite accrual, (2) phase out the corporal rank over time and move to a dual‑sergeant shift model, and (3) give the chief authority to appoint several supervisory positions. The parties recessed for caucus and agreed to continue negotiations, with a tentative next meeting set for July 2.

Why it matters: changes to comp time, rank structure and supervisory appointments affect department staffing, individual officers’ pay and duties, and the city’s budget exposure for unpaid liabilities. The proposals include operational clarifications the city says are intended to reduce an ‘‘unfunded liability’’ tied to large comp‑time balances and to create administrative capacity as the department grows.

Most important proposals and clarifications

The city presented a set of measures it said were intended to address budget liability and create managerial capacity. City materials and speakers described the comp‑time change this way: under the current CBA an…