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Council adopts new personnel policies and funds firefighter screening to comply with recent laws
Summary
Council approved a package of personnel‑policy updates — including mental‑health leave expansions, paid quarantine leave for eligible public‑safety officers, and PUMP Act accommodations — and authorized an agreement with Hunt Regional Occupational Health to start firefighter occupational cancer screenings required by House Bill 1198, with an initial FY cost estimate of up to ~$42,000 financed from contingency.
Human Resources staff presented an omnibus update to employee benefit and leave policies to bring the personnel manual into compliance with recent state laws and to formalize existing practices. The package includes a new mental‑health leave policy (covering licensed peace officers, telecommunicators and firefighters), a paid quarantine leave policy for eligible public safety officers, updates to vacation and sick accrual rules for part‑time employees (grandfathering existing part‑timers), and PUMP Act accommodations for pregnancy and lactation.
Staff also explained an interlocal agreement to provide group critical‑illness coverage via Texas Municipal League and MetLife to meet HB4144 requirements for retirees and reviewed the firefighter occupational‑cancer screening program required by HB1198. The city will phase screening implementation and target firefighters over age 45 first; staff estimated a worst‑case immediate fiscal impact of about $42,000 but said some tests overlap with existing employee health‑fair offerings and that the figure could be lower. Council approved the policy package and related agreements unanimously.
Council members asked for greater clarity about long‑term costs and sought an ability to estimate per‑person or per‑event costs; staff agreed to research historical data and comparable jurisdictions to provide better forecasting for future budget planning.
