ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
The City Council will decide Tuesday night if firefighters will get the bigger raises they’ve been seeking for months.
For much of this spring, firefighters and their supporters have said a proposed 4.11 percent across-the-board salary increase for all city employees was inadequate for firefighters since it would leave many making less than a living wage.
“This has been a long battle of advocacy on behalf of our union to get starting pay up to a more fair and competitive level,” Asheville Fire Fighters Association (IAFF Local 332) President Welcker Taylor said.
The City Council is scheduled to finalize its budget for fiscal year 2025 at a meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center downtown. At an agenda briefing last week, members began considering a series of options presented by staff that could increase the size of public safety raises so that the lowest-paid on shift firefighters and lowest-paid on-shift police officers each would make $50,309.
Final decisions are expected Tuesday night.
The city has 294 full-time and part-time positions (288 of which are uniformed positions), city officials said. Currently, the department has 297 employees.
“The fire department is allowed to hire over the allotted amount of firefighters during academies because not everyone passes the different components to become an online firefighter,” city Communications Specialist Kim Miller said.
Miller said firefighter pay breaks down as follows:
F26C/2 – Firefighter $48,598 annually
F26C/1 – Firefighter $47,413 annually
F26C/0 – Firefighter $46,256 annually
She said it’s important to note labor laws around firefighter staffing are different and must be applied when considering “hourly” wages.
“The City of Asheville aligns with others in the state with a 2912-hour annual work schedule for firefighters, factoring in regular pay and overtime. The standard firefighter shift schedule has resulted in specific provisions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for sworn firefighting personnel,” Miller said
ASHEVILLE STILL CONSIDERING FIREFIGHTER RAISES BEFORE BUDGET FINALIZED
At the June 6, 2024, City Council Agenda Briefing, staff presented revised compensation options for the City Council’s consideration as part of the FY 2024-25 Budget Ordinance. Those options included the following:
A flat dollar increase of $4,053 for beginning on-shift firefighters with a 2.5 percent separation between steps in the Fire Play Plan, which will boost the lowest paid on-shift firefighter pay by 8.8 percent to $50,309.
An increase of 6.0 percent for employees on the Police Pay Plan, which will boost the lowest-paid on-shift Police Officer pay to $50,309
An increase of $2,400 or 4.11 percent whichever is greater for all regular full-time permanent employees on the city’s other pay plans, which will boost the lowest-paid employees’ pay by 6.3 percent.
Council members are expected to finalize the budget during their meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St., in downtown Asheville.
