By FireRescue1 Staff
NEW ORLEANS — Firefighters are getting their first pay raise in more than 10 years as part of a newly approved budget.
WWLTV reported that New Orleans firefighters will receive a 10 percent pay increase thanks to a nearly $702 million spending plan that will be allocated for multiple things such as raises for most city workers.
“It’s a big difference,” Local 632 President Aaron Mischler said. “We’ve been told many times before that it’s coming, it’s coming. So when it finally hit there was a surge of excitement.”
With the pay increase, firefighters’ base salary will now be around $31,000.
“We want them to know we appreciate them,” Budget Committee Chair Jared Brossett said.
Mischler said new recruits are “another plus that was in this budget.”
“They’ve allocated to hire 50 new firefighters this year,” he said.
Mischler added that while the firefighters are grateful, more help is needed to update firehouses and equipment.
“We still have vehicles left over from Katrina,” he said. “We have one truck in each district, those are all aging. Those are all the next things they plan on replacing.”
Council President Jason Williams said officials are looking into the updates.
“The firefighters need it so we have to work on that,” he said. “Also, EMS are woefully underfunded as well, and they need a pay raise. So there are a lot of people who need an increase and we have to find a way to get that to them.”