Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution ratifying a meet and confer agreement with the Georgetown Professional Association of Fire Fighters -- Tadd Phillips, Director of Human Resources

Meet & Confer is a permissive process allowed and prescribed by Texas Local Government Code Chapter 142. The process provides an opportunity to supersede and improve upon the statutory requirements of Civil Service law.

The City entered into Meet & Confer agreements with Georgetown Professional Association of Fire Fighters (Association) in 2016. That agreement is set to expire on September 30, 2019. Discussions regarding a new agreement began in December of 2018 and concluded last month. The new agreement includes the following provisions that are beneficial to all parties:

• Create additional rank structure of Paramedic II, which will give Chief greater flexibility in promoting experienced medic who are more focused in paramedicine than firefighter. Expands Chief’s flexibility in promotion.
• Created assignments of Division Chief and Fire Marshal and manner by which employees can be placed in assignments.
• Increase education requirements in future years for promoted positions. Expands Chief’s flexibility in promotion beyond who can test well.
• Include vacation and holiday time as hours worked for purposes of overtime for 56 hour fire suppression employees only.
• Add assignment pay for Firefighters assigned to ambulances of $25/per shift.
• Add Pflugerville (TCESD2), Sugar Land, and Lewisville and remove Waco as a comparator organization (in addition to Round Rock, Cedar Park, New Braunfels, and Austin) for pay.
• Make City standby pay policy applicable to fire investigator/inspectors.

The term of the agreement is 3 years and is set to begin on October 1. Per Chapter 142, this agreement is enforceable once the Association conducts a ratification election of the Police Officers and the City Council ratifies the agreement by majority vote. Per President Ross Black, the Association completed their ratification election on September 3rd and a majority of affected fire fighters voted in favor of ratification. Council ratification is the final step to the approval process.

Total financial impact in FY2020 will be approximately $635,000 and is included in the proposed FY2020 budget.