Vallejo CA Giving Firefighters $4M Pay Raise

Vallejo’s firefighters may soon see an increase in their paychecks.

The Vallejo City Council is expected to ratify a new two-year, nine-month tentative agreement on Tuesday with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) that will cost the city over $4 million during the life of the contract.

The city’s firefighters will receive a 3.5 percent wage increase upon approval by the council, plus 3.5 percent increases effective July 1, 2020 and 2021.

Additional terms include implementation of a mandatory overtime policy which is consistent with other fire departments to reduce station closures, change in requirements for promotion, implementing a department leadership program, and adding of fire staff premium pay.

Finally, each member will get a one-time $2,000 lump sum.

“The lack of (a memorandum of understanding), or any long term agreement between the parties has negatively impacted the morale and operations of the Vallejo Fire Department,” a city staff report to the council states. “The approval of the proposed successor MOU is expected to achieve greater stability for the Vallejo Fire Department (“VFD”), while resolving several ongoing issues. The improved stability should have a positive impact on recruitment and retention of Fire Department personnel.”

In June 2018, the city council finalized a one-year successor MOU with the firefighters union, giving members a five percent raise, which cost the city $1 million during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Additional terms in the year-contract also included granting the Vallejo Fire Department authority to mandate qualified employees to work in a higher classification, changes to workers compensation requiring employees to return to work on modified duty if the city can accommodate the restrictions imposed by the employee’s doctor, and settling of a Public Employment Relations Board charge regarding the paramedic coordinator classification.

A final term also settles a grievance which provides a 7.5 percent paramedic pay for captain and engineer paramedics.

Councilors are also expected to ratify three separate orders issued by City Manager Greg Nyhoff last week.

They include limiting residential and commercial evictions arising from a decrease in household or business income due to COVID-19, ordering curb-side cannabis sales, and ordering delivery services for essential businesses.

On Monday, City Hall announced that the council chambers will not be open to the public due to the statewide shelter-at-home order.

“All seven elected officials, along with presenting members of staff, will participate in the meetings remotely,” staff said in a news release. “There will only be minimal staff present at City Hall for the meeting, and those staff will be practicing social distancing measures.”

The general public will be able to participate and provide public comment during the meeting via links embedded in the agenda.

“On that site, members of the public can enter general public comments, as well as comments related to a particular agenda item, similar to a regular meeting. In order to submit comments, Open City Hall will prompt the user with the option to enter a name or users can elect to be anonymous, followed by a prompt to enter a comment,” officials added. “It is not necessary to register for Open City Hall in order to participate. Participants should keep their comments to under 200 words, as all public comment will be read aloud by staff during the council meeting.”

The agendas for each meeting are available at www.cityofvallejo.net/AgendasVideos. The public comment period on will open 30 minutes prior to each meeting.

Open City Hall can be accessed by visiting cityofvallejo.net/living/connect/open_city_hall.

“This is the first time the City will be implementing this approach, so we ask for the public’s patience as we work through the inevitable technical issues that will arise,” they said.

For those that do experience technical difficulties while attempting to access the meeting, email city IT staff at [email protected].

Council meetings broadcast on the public access Channel 27 and via the City’s website, www.cityofvallejo.net/.

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