Leander talks reclassifying seven lieutenants to captains; city and union to draft transition plan

Leander fire officials and the Leander Professional Firefighter Association discussed a proposal to reclassify seven lieutenant positions to captains and agreed to draft contract language and a transition timeline aimed at implementing the change in January–February.

The proposal, presented by the union bargaining team, would create three truck‑captain positions at Station 1 plus one station captain each at Stations 2, 3, 4 and 5 (seven reclassifications total). The association said the change is intended to create an intermediate promotional step between lieutenant and battalion positions and to provide more capacity for administrative and specialty duties.

Why it matters: Reclassifying existing positions would alter pay and internal staffing; city staff estimated the base payroll cost at just under $90,000 annually and full “fully loaded” cost (including retirement and benefits) at about 30% higher — roughly $117,000 per year. Because the change is a reclassification rather than creation of new headcount, the parties discussed civil‑service procedures (existing promotion lists, notice periods and test schedules) that could delay the effective date. Participants agreed that careful contract language is needed to coordinate reclassification with civil‑service rules and avoid unintended personnel disruptions.

What the parties proposed and discussed - Union proposal: The association asked to reclassify seven lieutenant slots to captains so the department would have three truck captains at Station 1 and one station captain at each of Stations 2–5. The association framed…