PRESENTER: Presenter
Becca Miears, Director of Human Resources
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of a resolution of the City Council of the City of New Braunfels, Texas, renewing and amending the Meet and Confer Agreement between the City and the New Braunfels Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local 3845 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, for a term ending on September 30, 2027.
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DEPARTMENT: Human Resources
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Texas Local Government Code, (Chapter 142), allows certain cities to meet and confer with the firefighter and police associations regarding issues of wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment. Once an agreement is reached by the negotiating teams, the agreement must be ratified by the majority of the City Council and the majority of covered firefighters by secret ballot election. A fully ratified Meet and Confer Agreement may supersede contrary state statutes, local ordinances, civil service law, and rules adopted by the Chief or New Braunfels Firefighters and Police Officers Civil Service Commission. If dissatisfied with a ratified agreement, registered voters in the city can order an election to repeal a Meet and Confer Agreement ratified by the City and the Association.
In April 2018, the New Braunfels Professional Fire Fighters Association (NBPFFA) filed a petition seeking to be recognized by the City as the sole bargaining agent for the Fire Department’s civil service employees, excluding the Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, and exempt employees. The Association represented to management and City Council that they wanted to utilize the meet and confer process to establish hiring and promotional standards and processes. The Association representatives stated they did not want to incorporate issues such as salary and benefits into the meet and confer process and agreement. The law does not require either the public employer or the Association to meet and confer on any issue, or to reach an agreement.
In May 2018, City Council adopted the resolution granting the NBPFFA as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for employees. A year later, the Association representatives notified the City Manager that they were ready to meet and confer and thus, negotiations began. Since then, the agreement has been amended and approved by City Council on October 25, 2021 (120-day extension), January 24, 2022, August 28, 2023, and December 9, 2024 with a termination date of September 30, 2026.
The parties were able to meet and negotiate amendments and renewal to the last approved Meet and Confer Agreement at a lawfully posted, public meeting held on May 30, 2025, in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and Ch. 142.063 of the Local Government Code.
Summary of Proposed Contract Amendments:
Article 4. Promotions, addition of:
Section 8. Promotional Candidate Request for Bypass
(a) A promotional candidate who declines an offered promotional appointment shall submit a written request to the Department Head to be bypassed for that vacancy on the current eligibility list. The request must include the specific reason(s) for the bypass.
(b) Upon receipt of the written request, the candidate’s name shall be returned to its original position on the eligibility list and shall remain eligible for future vacancies while the list is in effect, subject to the limitation in subsection (c) below.
(c) If a candidate requests a bypass for a second time for the same vacancy while the same eligibility list is active, that candidate shall be removed from the list.
ISSUE:
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☒Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the resolution.