ATHENS, Ga. — The union representing firefighters in Athens-Clarke County say it’s in support of recommendations for a new pay plan.
At a work session held on Wednesday, a consulting firm presented recommendations for a new pay plan to the Athens-Clarke County mayor and commission. The study had been ordered as part of a collective bargaining agreement to make salaries for local firefighters more competitive with those in surrounding areas.
Emily Alger is the president of the Athens-Clarke County Professional Firefighters Union. She said during the meeting that morale has increased since the union signed a collective bargaining agreement with the local government last year.
“We’ve started retaining firefighters,” she said. “We were a whole battalion short when y’all voted this in, and now we’re fully staffed.”
She also said the union has started initiatives to recruit more women and people of color to the department.
The revised step plan would cost the county an extra $400,000 over the first six months of its implementation. The Commission will vote on the plan in December.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with WUGA News
