Leander city staff and representatives of the firefighters’ bargaining unit met in a series of sessions to revise a draft collective bargaining agreement and to set near-term implementation steps.

The meeting produced a set of agreed edits and follow-up items: retiree medical coverage for qualifying firefighters tied to House Bill 4144; a promotional timeline and a labor–management subcommittee to implement reclassifications to captain; a fitness-incentive framework linked to NFPA percentile benchmarks; a proposed association business leave bank that the city will seed and match; and a plan for recurring compensation benchmarking and midcycle adjustments.

Why this matters: the meeting addressed contract language that affects pay, benefits and operational details for dozens of city firefighters. The items discussed — retiree medical coverage, promotion and staffing changes, fitness standards and a donated leave bank — affect recruit pipelines, day-to-day staffing and long-term costs for the City of Leander.

Most important agreed items and next steps

- Retiree medical coverage: Parties agreed to add a provision that mirrors state legislation identified in the meeting as House Bill 4144. Under the agreed text, the employer will provide continuous medical insurance coverage for qualifying retirees at no cost to the retiree through the third anniversary of separation for firefighters retiring on or after January 1, 2026. The parties discussed clarifying that coverage is retiree-only (not dependents) and that coverage expires on the last calendar day of the month at the end of the three-year period. The association and city asked staff to ensure the provision is explicitly tied to the city’s medical plan and legislative citation.

- Promotions and reclassification to captain: The parties discussed a promotional timeline that included a tentative promotional exam in early January (the draft schedule referenced a January 7 test date), an appeal period and a target effective pay period in late February. Because multiple vacancies and an upcoming retirement (a captain submitting a retirement effective December 5 was noted) could change needs, the parties agreed to form a labor–management subcommittee to develop: the promotion implementation plan, job descriptions and training requirements, a shift-bid process, contingency plans if not enough candidates apply or pass, and how to manage interim battalion/relief coverage. The parties agreed not to lock in implementation dates until the subcommittee refines the process and contingency rules.

- Certification and education preference points: The meeting advanced a proposal to add preference points to promotional scoring for academic degrees (associate = 1 point, bachelor = 2, master or higher = 3) and a parallel “work-equivalency” schedule that awards the same points for verified years of service with the Leander Fire Department (10–15 years = 1 point, 15–20 = 2, 20+ = 3). The parties discussed capping combined seniority and education points so promotional scoring remains bounded; they agreed to continue the discussion as part of implementation and to avoid grandfathering issues that would disadvantage existing senior personnel.

- Minimum hiring age and recruitment: The parties discussed raising the maximum entry age for firefighters from 36 to 40 for eligibility to take an entrance exam, consistent with how some peer agencies handle age limits. The suggested text would mirror the city’s civil-service/legal references that currently appear in TLGC section references discussed in the meeting (transcript cited TLGC 143.023).

- Fitness standard and incentive pay: The draft agreement adopts a fitness-screening framework tied to cardiorespiratory (VO2-equivalent/MET) percentiles (the meeting referenced NFPA guidance and third-party normative tables). The negotiation recorded agreement to an incentive (certification) stipend for employees who reach the 70th percentile by age/sex-standardized testing (the parties discussed using the treadmill- and cycle-derived charts supplied by the city’s occupational health provider). Parties asked for an implementation window so members could prepare; the group proposed an implementation date (earlier in the discussion it was suggested that new testing standards take effect 01/01/2026) and agreed to collect data in the first year to estimate participation and cost before adopting any higher “tier 2” incentive levels.

- Training, “cadre”/team pay and donor leave bank: The parties agreed to expand team/stipend categories (tactical medic, honor guard, peer support, pure fitness trainer and a cadre of instructional/training contributors) and to pay a monthly stipend for approved teams. The association proposed a training/association-business leave (ABL) bank designed to let members donate vacation/holiday time to create a pool for association business or approved training; the city agreed to seed the pool annually (100 hours) and to match employee donations on a one-to-one basis up to an initial combined pool target (the parties discussed a practical cap of 400 hours initial pool with an absolute cap of 600 hours). The city and association agreed to finalize the mechanics (carryover, usage approvals, and administrative workflow).

- Alternative/medical cannabis: The parties agreed not to adopt a new on-duty prescription policy at this meeting and to form a cross-department subcommittee (public safety + HR) to study “alternative medicine” (medical cannabis) including legal, safety and policy implications; the subcommittee will report back with recommended language and limits. The topic was explicitly deferred for further study rather than resolved.

- Dues, payroll deductions and housekeeping edits: The group confirmed payroll’s existing dues-deduction form would govern the timing and remittance of association dues; the city and association agreed to reference that dues form in the contract text so future administrative changes could be applied automatically. Multiple editorial edits throughout the draft change “union” to “association” and clarified notice, signature and execution timing language.

- Compensation benchmarking and implementation cadence: The city described a multi-year compensation approach: an initial benchmarking/study to keep pay scales near market median for benchmarked peer agencies and an ongoing review cycle so adjustments are not one-time. City staff agreed to share comparator lists and benchmark methodology with the association and to pursue a fiscal-year implementation cadence for any market-step adjustments. The parties also agreed that extraordinary fiscal stress should trigger an agreed reopen-and-meet-and-confer process, with a 30-day good-faith period to negotiate proportionate adjustments before either side pursues further remedies.

What remains and next procedural steps

- The city attorney/staff will incorporate agreed language edits into a clean, redlined draft. Parties agreed to circulate a final edited draft to membership for ratification within a week of receiving the clean redline; the association will schedule ratification meetings so all shifts can vote. The city targeted council consideration in mid-October, with a contractual drop-dead to meet notice and implementation timelines earlier in November.

- The labor–management subcommittee will define the captain promotion implementation plan, battalion relief/coverage, and training/implementation timetables. A separate subcommittee will study medical cannabis/alternative medicine policy across public-safety departments and make recommendations.

Ending

Both sides emphasized that language and procedural clarity were priorities. Multiple items were pushed into small working groups so the contract could proceed to membership ratification without leaving those operational questions unresolved. The meeting concluded with agreement to prepare the edited contract for association membership review and a schedule for ratification and council consideration.