Baltimore County officials have reached tentative agreements with unions representing the county's 1,600 firefighters and blue-collar workers that provide pay increases of up to 6.5 percent.
The proposed contracts, slated to be ratified next month, are not as generous as the pay package for county police but offer pay and benefits similar to those in neighboring jurisdictions, county officials say.
"We feel this keeps our people competitive," said Robert J. Barrett, a special assistant to County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger.
The county's 969 firefighters have tentatively agreed to a four-year pact that calls for a 6 percent cost-of-living pay raise during the first year, effective July 1, and 4.5 percent increases in each of the next three years, said Jim Boyd, first vice president of the Baltimore County Firefighters Local 1311.
Under the pact, the salary for a firefighter with 10 years' experience will rise from $36,798 to $39,006 on July 1, Boyd said.
The department's 143 paramedics also will see their pay scales upgraded with increases of 4.5 percent to 4.8 percent, Boyd said.
Firefighters with certification as cardiac rescue technicians or emergency medical technicians also will receive annual supplemental pay raises of $250 to $1,500 a year, depending on their levels of experience and training, Boyd said.
Norman A. Anderson, a heavy-equipment operator who is president of the mostly blue-color Local 921 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said their one-year agreement calls for a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for all 700 members.
Job reclassifications will mean additional pay increases of 4 percent to 4.5 percent for about 90 percent of the membership, he said.
A healthy county surplus and a police contract that gave officers annual raises of 4 percent to 8 percent had raised expectations about pay raises this year among all county workers. But union leaders said yesterday that they were pleased with the contracts being offered.
"We feel good about it," said Anderson, president of the AFSCME.
Ruppersberger said repeatedly that the $20 million pay package for police was a one-time deal, needed to attract and keep good officers because the police pay scales lagged behind other jurisdictions.
Although firefighters won't be paid as much as the county police, Boyd said the contract makes county firefighters among the highest paid in the region.
The firefighters' 969 union members are expected to ratify the pact April 1. AFSCME has scheduled a ratification vote for April 5, Anderson said.
Pub Date: 3/24/99