Firefighters to get raises

STAFF REPORT

STRUTHERS — City council has approved a new three-year work agreement that gives firefighters a 1.5 percent pay increase each year of the contract.

The contract ordinance, passed Wednesday by council and previously ratified by firefighters, is retroactive to Nov. 1. The previous agreement expired Oct. 31, Mayor Terry Stocker said.

The pay rate for a beginning firefighter increased from $33,639 to $34,143 a year. The top pay rate of a firefighter with three full years of service, called an engineer, rose from $39,869 to $40,467.

It now takes three years to achieve maximum salary, compared to one year under the previous contract. Longevity pay, which goes into effect after five full years of service, is increased from $2.75 to $2.94 per month for each year of service, Stocker said.

In the health care area, the employee’s part of the monthly premium for a family policy, now $63, could rise to $85 a month, depending if, and on how much, the premium goes above the $1,200-a-month cap, the mayor added.