Mayor Andy Berke joined the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and leadership of the Chattanooga Fire Department to unveil the department’s new pay plan Wednesday afternoon.
At a press conference at Fire Hall #1 on Main Street, Mayor Berke and IAFF Local 820 President Jack Thompson signed a memorandum of understanding which sets forth regular raises for fire personnel based on rank and years of service.
"Our firefighters should be proud of the way they were represented by the IAFF throughout this process and the leadership displayed by Chief Flint,” said Mayor Berke. “We ask our firefighters to serve and protect our community, often in times of crisis. By putting in place a pay plan that is clear and consistent, we are serving and protecting these public safety employees.”
Earlier this summer, the Berke administration began working with department leadership and the employee group, IAFF, to reach a solution that he said "provides consistency and ensures pay increases are fairly allocated going forward."
Approximately $500,000 has been allocated to fix the CFD pay structure.
“This was by no means an easy task,” said Jack Thompson, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. “That said, I want to thank Mayor Berke and his staff for listening to our members, CFD employees and CFD leadership. Their desire to work with us and fix this pay plan will be a huge benefit for our fire fighters and their families.”
The MOU "defines a mutual commitment between employees and the city to provide the best services while demonstrating the need for predictable raises based on years of service and rank (see attached compensation structure.)"
As with the Chattanooga Police Department pay plan, the agreement calls it “incumbent on the leadership of the city of Chattanooga to respect this pay plan and to fully support it in present and future budgeting.”
Chief Lamar Flint said, “Not only will these changes support morale in our fire department, it will have a ripple effect on recruitment, retention, and development of our firefighters. That is a good thing for Chattanooga, allowing us to continue to provide the best service to our community.”
The announcement came approximately three months after Mayor Berke announced a solution to fix issues with the Chattanooga Police Department pay plan.