After several months of respectful and positive discussions with the firefighters, Staff is pleased to present to you a proposed final agreement with respect to the collective bargaining agreement for the term as indicated above.
Below is a summary of the terms and conditions that have been agreed upon by the Union and the City’s negotiating teams. They are as follows:
Language:
There is the clean-up and updating of language where such throughout the agreement was outdated or no longer relevant to practice.
Grievance Procedure:
Provide consistent language and increase the number of business days in which to respond to a grievance at each step by 5.
Holidays:
Officially list the addition of Juneteenth as a holiday in the contract.
Wages:
Step Increases
For each year of the agreement, bargaining unit members will be eligible for step increases. Each bargaining unit member is eligible for no more than one step increase per fiscal year.
1. For Fiscal Year 2023-24, effective the beginning of the first payroll period of the fiscal year, the steps reflected in Appendix A shall be increased by 5.5% from the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 steps.
2. For Fiscal Year 2024-2025, increases to each step, if any, will be established through reopener negotiations.
3. For Fiscal Year 2025-2026, increases to each step, if any, will be established through reopener negotiations.
City Fire Safety Inspection Program:
The City will establish a pilot Fire Safety Inspection Program in consultation with the Union. Firefighters eligible to participate in the program will be paid time and one-half their regular rate when conducting off duty inspections under the program. The City may discontinue the program at its discretion, and the discontinuation shall not be grievable.
Personnel Practices:
Employees hired on or after October 2, 2023 must obtain State of Florida Paramedic Certification within three (3) years of their date of hire. The Fire Chief may grant an extension of up to one (1) additional year at their discretion; however, denial of an extension shall not be grievable.
Seniority, Lay-Offs and Recall:
Consistency of lay-off and recall notice language to reflect the same number of days for each (10 business days).
Leave of Absence:
Increase designated Union representative time off to deal with Union business, conferences and training from 24 hours to 72 duty hours per fiscal year.
Uniform Issue:
Fire Chief may allow a member who achieves normal retirement to keep their City-issued helmet upon retirement.