Stakeholder committee sends 'Garland schedule' and guardrails to City Council

The public safety stakeholder committee voted on June 17 to present a package of staffing and schedule changes — dubbed the "Garland schedule" in the meeting — to the full City Council.

Chair opened the meeting by framing the group's charge: maintain service quality, improve firefighter wellbeing, and ensure fiscal sustainability. After a multi-hour presentation and exchange with fire staff and the city manager, a motion to send the plan and the financial guardrails to council passed on a voice vote. "What we have before us is more than a schedule change," the chair said, describing the package as a balanced combination of schedule, staffing and fiscal measures.

The committee's recommendation bundles operational changes (a four-shift model that uses assigned "debit days"), nine new firefighter positions included in the proposed budget, and financial guardrails intended to prevent overtime from exceeding the city's target. Committee members and staff framed the vote as a conditional endorsement: implementation hinges on the guardrails and on a successful voter rate‑swap election that management says is required to fund the plan.

Committee member Jason moved to forward the model to council; Melissa seconded and members responded "Aye." The motion passed by voice vote; the meeting record does not list an exact roll-call tally.

Looking ahead, city management said it expects to brief the council on the plan and its financial contingencies. The package includes a built-in review trigger tied to overtime expenditures and a plan to revert to the prior schedule if guardrails are breached.