La Marque police negotiators reach tentative contract agreement; 4% raise written to start Oct. 1 with pay in January

Negotiators for the La Marque Police Association and the city announced a tentative agreement during a bargaining session that the association said it will present to members for a vote and the city plans to forward to the La Marque City Council for ratification on Sept. 22, 2025.

The agreement, as described in the meeting, would place a 4% pay increase in the new contract with an effective contract date of Oct. 1; association leaders said pay would begin Jan. 1 to match the city’s cash-flow calendar. City negotiators and the association said the delay is intended to allow the city to confirm revenue after most property-tax receipts arrive in January. Ward Ferguson, identified in the meeting as the city’s new finance director and on the job roughly seven days, was present while negotiators discussed revenue timing and budget constraints.

Association representatives said they had previously sought a larger increase (7.1%) but acknowledged the city’s current position. The parties agreed to language addressing a 180-hour cap on comp time and administrative chain-of-command provisions, which the association board described as acceptable. A concern was raised about one officer who exceeds the 180-hour cap; negotiators said the chief would prefer the officer burn comp time rather than pay it out, but whether the city will pay out any existing unfunded liability was not resolved during the meeting.

After a short caucus, the city’s negotiating team announced that a tentative agreement had been reached and that the city would present the contract to the city council for ratification at its Sept. 22, 2025 meeting. Association leaders said they would bring the tentative agreement to their membership that evening, allow several days for a vote and report back by the end of the following week.

No formal ratification or final signature was recorded at the bargaining session. The tentative agreement was described as subject to the association’s membership vote and the city council’s ratification.

Quotes in context: “Where we are right now is, mister Ferguson is in I guess I'll start with, in case I haven't met him, Ward Ferguson is the city's new finance director.” —Gus “We the association board understands the place where the city's at, and we're if y'all offer that in a contract, we will take it to our membership and and try to get it, voted on.” —Association representative (meeting statement)

Next steps: The association will take the tentative agreement to its membership for a vote; the city plans to ask the City Council to ratify the agreement on Sept. 22, 2025. Whether any retroactive pay will be provided for time between Oct. 1 and Jan. 1 was not resolved and remains pending.