Atlanta announces new proposal for pay raises for city's firefighters
ATLANTA - Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the city's firefighters have reached a new pay agreement aimed at attracting new recruits to Georgia capital.
The new agreement, which will have to be approved by the Atlanta City Council, would add a new tier of compensation for firefighters who have been with the city for a longer period of time.
If approved, employees of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department will see raises between 7% and 15.5% with the largest increase toward new recruits.
"The women and men of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department put their lives on the line on behalf of Atlanta residents, and as Mayor I want to make sure they are fully supported," said Mayor Dickens. "These increases will go a long way toward helping us recruit and train the best firefighters in the region as well as retain firefighters who have served our City for years. I thank Chief Smith and the leaders of the Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters for working with me as we charted this path forward."
Atlanta firefighters bring attention to inadequate pay, councilman speaks out
Atlanta officials say city commissioners were met with cases from firefighter officials after the city failed to fulfill first responders pay raises. Officials say city council has budget power to change the plan and boost firefighter pay. An Atlanta Councilman spoke out about the issue saying inadequate pay jeopardizes fire manpower.
ATLANTA CITY COUNCILMAN WARNS CITY WILL LOSE FIREFIGHTERS IF PAY DOESN'T INCREASE
Currently, the top pay for a city firefighter is $55,000. That is significantly behind the local market and due to low manpower, the city has had to close temporarily some stations.
When Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith detailed his budget in May, Atlanta City Council member Dustin Hillis found the top pay to be at least $6,000 below the annual hike firefighters are expecting.
Firefighters in Atlanta say they are pulling double shifts — working 48 hours straight — in order to keep all the firehouses open.
Speaking last month, union President Nate Bailey says staffing has gotten "dangerously low." At busy stations, firefighters are getting little sleep, and he says that can impact performance. Bailey said a number of the suburban fire departments pay their veteran firefighters more than $70,000 annually.
After Thursday's announcement, Bailey wrote a letter saying the union was "thankful" for "this year's investment your administration is making in our firefighters.
"This investment will exceed any other single year raise in our history for the rank of firefighter…. The investment you and your administration are making will equal more than the last 3 years combined. With this investment and your administration conducting a new pay study, our firefighters know you are committed to them and moving Atlanta forward," Bailey wrote.