A call to demonstrate leadership by settling TFD’s three-year agreement

The Tallahassee Fire Department had another firefighter resign in April, bringing the total number of resignations to 14 since the beginning of contract negotiations in March of 2023.

Repeatedly, firefighters have expressed to the city commission the financial strain they are under because of the low starting salary and a more than 18% contribution to their pension (in comparison, police officers pay just over 10%). Most are working more than two jobs to make ends meet.

Why is the city commission ignoring the outpouring of community support, community leaders, the Friends of Tallahassee Firefighters, and the firefighters’ union to intervene and set standards for the next three-year agreement? By not settling on an agreement, city leaders are jeopardizing the retention of qualified and trained firefighters, the safety of Tallahassee and Leon County residents, as well as maintaining a stable insurance ISO rating.

To be clear, there are two agreements: The one-year agreement has been in negotiations for over a year and is currently at the arbitration stage; the three-year agreement has also been set forth for consideration to the city.

Tallahassee firefighters have endured nonstop emergencies from saving lives in the recent torrential rains to containing several business and residential fires. The number of back-to-back fires draws attention to the heavy workload and risk our firefighters face daily with each incident.

After having such a robust fire department for years, it’s troubling to know TFD had multiple-alarm fires and had to call in help from off-duty Tallahassee and volunteer firefighters to assist with the containment of the fires, such as the historic Gramling’s Building, Cigars of Tally Midtown location, a three-story apartment building on West Park Avenue, and homes on Birmingham and Longview streets.

Our firefighters’ beginning pay is the lowest in the region and far behind comparable areas across the state (Source: Tallahassee Firefighters Union) . The 35,000-plus annual calls to the department far exceed the number of calls in surrounding counties and underscore the work distinction and pay disparity relative to surrounding fire departments.

This wide gap in the number of emergency calls, the associated stress for firefighters, as well as the higher cost of living in Leon County warrants a starting pay of $60,000. With all due respect to local public safety officers, a $60,000 starting pay would equalize firefighters’ starting pay ($44,177.71) to that of Tallahassee police officers — a difference of more than $15,000.

The Friends of Tallahassee Firefighters is again asking the city commission to take a stand for our firefighters and settle the three-year agreement.

The safety of our residents and businesses that call Tallahassee and Leon County home rely on our brave firefighters to help in times of crisis. Surely, they deserve the consideration and support of the city commission in their efforts to make the Tallahassee Fire Department a sought-after department that attracts the best candidates to serve our community.

Melinda Lanigan is a member of the Friends of Tallahassee Firefighters, wife of a retired Tallahassee firefighter, and concerned citizen.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: A call to demonstrate leadership by settling TFD’s three-year agreement