After negotiating teams from both the City of Brownwood and the Brownwood Professional Firefighters Association (BPFFA) reached an agreement on terms of employment issues, Brownwood City council approved the agreement unanimously at Tuesday’s Brownwood City Council meeting.
The agreement calls for base salary raises for Brownwood firefighters and outlined some hiring procedures. The two year agreement beginning October 1st states that base salaries for firefighters will be increased 3% on the first paycheck in October1, 2012. If all city employees receive an across-the-board pay increase for fiscal year 2013-2014, then firefighters will also receive an equivalent increase in base salary. BPFFA agrees not to petition to increase salaries during the term of this agreement.
Background investigations of firefighter applicants will now be conducted on each applicant for beginning positions. Should the application fail the background investigation, he/she will not be able to take the tests for the beginning position. Currently these background tests are conducted after the examinations are completed.A New Hire Board consisting of 5 members will be established in the Meet and Confer agreement. Board members include the Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, the Civil Service Director, one member appointed by the Fire Chief and one member appointed by the BPFFA. The New Hire Board will conduct interviews of those passing the written exam. Score totals from the written, oral and physical agility tests will determine pass/fail and rank on the eligibility list.
A probation period of six months will be established for those firefighters promoted to a higher rank.
In the event the city cannot meet its funding obligations and after exhausting all reasonably available recurring revenue, as provided in the State Constitution and the city suffers a significant reduction in revenues, this Agreement shall terminate.
Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes expressed his satisfaction with the negotiations and the professionalism of the Brownwood Fire Department.
“Not only do I appreciate your willingness to come to the table and meet with us to reach a reasonable agreement in a very difficult economic time, but also I applaud your commitment to professionalism as we looked at the things to add to this agreement. They try to continue to have a very professional fire department,” said Mayor Haynes. “They try to ensure the quality of people you have working with us as they do now and will continue to do this in the future.”
Just last year, through meet and confer agreements, the City of Brownwood approved a 6% base salary increase for all firefighters and a 6% increase in base salaries for police officers in accordance with their step pay schedule. Both police and fire also received a $25 per month increase applicable to all certification levels.
In September 2008, the City of Brownwood entered meet and confer agreements between the Brownwood Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Brownwood Municipal Police Association that called for pay raises each year over three consecutive years. The two associations deferred their pay raises in 2010 due to city budget concerns. The action by the city council in 2011 implemented the previously deferred raises.
