Budget: Firefighters to get long-awaited raise

By Randy Bell    

Fire Chief Levius Buckley says Clinton firefighters seem pleased with the City’s efforts to address the salary issues that have prompted some of his personnel to leave for better-paying jobs elsewhere.  During a budget hearing August 24, Buckley told City leaders that the pay proposal that’s part of the fiscal year 2027 budget “does a pretty good job of fixing that problem.”

Mayor Will Purdie has outlined a plan to bring the salaries of all City employees up to the midpoint of what’s being offered for similar jobs across the local area.   It’s welcome news, especially for firefighters, after they had to take a back seat to the police department in FY25 as police were given significant raises to try to stop the loss of officers seeking more money in other departments.  Then, as the FY26 budget was being put together, an unexpected $1 million shortfall forced the City to limit pay raises to three per cent for all employees.

Buckley says that took a toll on the fire department.

“It definitely cost us a lot of experience,” the chief says.  “We had a lot of guys leave for neighboring departments.  A lot of my friends, actually.  I still talk to them.  But [it’s disappointing] to see them in a different uniform.”

He says the bigger salary bumps in the mayor’s new budget sends a message.

“It shows that he’s committed to us in public safety.”

Another budget need for the fire department this year is to replace its self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which protects firefighters from toxic smoke.  The chief says the equipment they’re using is rapidly approaching the end of its service life. 

The price tag to fully outfit the department with new SCBA is about $477,000, but Buckley is hoping to receive a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover most of the cost.  He says the money would come from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program.

“They know cities are out here that can’t buy all of this expensive equipment,” the chief says.  If the department receives the grant, the City would have to pay only a $43,000 match.