- After more than one year of frustration and an impasse, the City of Tallahassee and the firefighters' union ended their dispute.
- City commissioners accepted the special magistrate's recommendation, which does not include pay raises for TFD leadership.
- Watch now to hear one TFD battalion chief describe how the decision affects his ranks.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
We've been following the ongoing labor dispute between the city of Tallahassee and the firefighters union.
After a year plus and an impasse, we have a resolution.
I'm Alberto Camargo in the downtown Tallahassee neighborhood.
Wednesday's decision ended the strife — but it's an ending that not many are happy with.
The special magistrate's recommendation has been adopted in full.
Tallahassee city commissioners — working as a neutral third-party between the city and the union — approved the decision 3-2.
This means that fire service leadership, like captains and battalion chiefs, get no salary raise, a pension contribution of 2.5%, and a lump sum payment of $500.
Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter voted against the magistrate recommendation — they wanted to meet the union's demands for a salary raise.
I asked TFD Battalion Chief Troy Anzalone how he and his fellow TFD leaders feel.
"I can't speak for everybody — but I know there are people feeling discouraged. If you want to associate that to morale — we get discouraged about a lot of stuff.
I reached out to the city of Tallahassee for its thoughts.
I did not immediately get a response — but the city's position was to accept the magistrate's recommendation.
The city's lawyer Michael Mattimore arguing that the magistrate's recommended pay for leadership was fair.
"All 3 analyses had one thing in common. And that is that they all found that the captains and the chiefs were at market or above market."
One battalion chief I spoke with — who chose not to go on camera — says they are now considering retirement after Wednesday's meeting.
Anzalone says that's not surprising to hear.
"I will stay here until my 30-year, which is in 2028. But if other members see the value that they can look at other options, I understand that, and they have that ability to do that."
The magistrate's recommendation for lower rank fire employees had already been agreed to by the union.
That does include pay raises across the board at rates of 5% for firefighters, 1.5% for engineers and 2.5% for lieutenants.
Despite feeling frustrated by the decision, Anzalone says he will continue his dedication to the community.
And as new recruits come in:
"I still will speak to them in the way that this job is worth it. I would never discourage anybody from this profession, because we need this profession to continue and to be strong."
The city and union remain in negotiations for a three-year labor agreement set to begin this fall.
In downtown Tallahassee, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
