Firefighters’ pay raise is delayed

Costa Mesa firefighters will have to wait until Aug. 1 to see if the City Council will approve a pay increase owed them as part of a 2004 contract.

The 4.41% increase in pay was on the council’s agenda Tuesday, but was tabled for its next scheduled meeting. Councilman Gary Monahan asked for the item to be put off because he had questions on the pay increase.

Since the increase is part of a contract agreed to in 2004 between the city and the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn., it was expected that the council would approve it a week after Tuesday.

“I need more time to review the pay calculations and the ? [agreement] to be more comfortable with the proposed pay increase,” Monahan said Wednesday.

Jeff Janzen, president of the association, expected the council to approve the increase.

“We were due the wage adjustment on July 1,” Janzen said. “Of course, we’re disappointed that our contract was not honored in a timely fashion. I would think questions that council may have had would have been answered by city staff prior to ? [Tuesday’s] meeting.”

The firefighters’ contract expires on June 30, 2007.

“Based on the total compensation comparison formula, we are 4.41% behind the average of our contiguous cities,” Janzen said.

If the council approves the pay increase, entry-level firefighters will make $57,300 per year, Terri L. Cassidy, the city’s human resources manager, said. “Top step” firefighters, which are fire staff with seniority and experience, will make $76,788, Cassidy said.

A Costa Mesa entry-level firefighter now makes $54,876 and a “top step” fire fighter makes $73,548, she said.

These figures refer to salary only and do not include benefits.

Costa Mesa has 102 fire staff members. Out of that number only 97 firefighters are affected by the pay increase. The fire chief, deputy chief, and three fire battalion chiefs are management positions, and not affected by the increase.

The pay increase is part of the city’s annual budget. The increase amounts to $497,462.

In Newport Beach, entry-level fire fighters make a salary of $50,523 annually. Janzen said that figure may be less than what entry-level fire fighters in Costa Mesa make, but Newport Beach fire fighters get a substantially better benefits package.

Janzen said $501 is allocated for medical benefits for Costa Mesa fire fighters. Newport Beach fire fighters get nearly $900, he said.