The Spokesman Review
SPOKANE, Wash. — In an announcement made Thursday after City Hall closed, officials said the proposed four-year deal includes no wage increases for 2012 or 2013 but “modest” increases in 2014 and 2015.
Details were sketchy, but the agreement also calls for restructured medical plans that would cap the city’s contribution to firefighters’ policies, holding the city’sspending increases to an annual average of 1.9 percent to 2.6 percent, the city said.
The plan must be approved by the City Council and by a vote of the 287 employees of the Fire Department covered by Local 29.
It wasn’t immediately clear how it compares with the plan negotiated by former Mayor Mary Verner in her final days in office but rejected by the City Council in February.
The city indicated Thursday that the department’s labor costs would grow by nearly $1 million next year, which Mayor David Condon said in a statement would have to be cut from other department spending.
Firefighters currently make up to $87,200 a year in base pay at their lowest rank and up to $91,900 a year as fire equipment operators. Those figures do not include overtime pay.
Copyright 2012 Spokane Spokesman-Review