By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Members of the public labor union representing ambulance paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters voted 25-7 this week to approve a new 2 ½ year contract, setting the stage for a $4 per hour pay raise in March and an additional $1 raise on Oct. 1, 2023.
Levy County Commissioners will meet in regular session on March 8 to vote on the contract and sign it. The International Association of Firefighters Local 4069, which represents paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters, must also sign the contract.
The raise would take effect on March 12, the start of the first full pay period after both sides sign the contract.
Union President Ryan Tietjen declined to comment on the union vote at this time.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean said it is his hope the raise will make Levy County competitive in the job market for hiring paramedics and EMTs and that the county will be able to fill the empty positions on ambulances.
“We want to make sure we are able to meet the needs of our citizens,” Dean said.
The county currently has one ambulance parked for lack of staffing and is using supervisors to fill some shifts to avoid additional shutdowns.
There is one other issue the board must face in the near future after the contract is ratified.
“I want to tell you the board didn’t go into this blind. It comes with a cost,” Dean said.
The county funds its emergency medical services entirely from a special assessment on property. The board has yet to discuss whether the special assessment will have to be increased or by how much this year. Budget discussions are expected to begin in March.
The current low pay scale has left many positions open on ambulances, forcing EMTs and paramedics to work additional shifts and earn overtime to keep the ambulances running. The unanswered question is whether the reduction in overtime will pay for some of the added costs of raising wages $4 per hour or if there won’t be any savings in that regard.
EMTs and paramedics are frequently required to work additional shifts known as mandatory overtime due largely to current staffing shortages. Department of Public Safety Director Mitch Harrell, who operates EMS, is hopeful the higher pay will attract more employees and eliminate mandatory overtime.
Union leaders didn’t get everything they wanted in union negotiations. They wanted to keep the current seniority-based system that gives long-serving EMS employees first choice of station assignments. Under the new system, those station assignments will be rotated more frequently. Harrell said he was losing employees who got stuck in less attractive stations. The union also lost the ability to count sick leave as time worked in calculating overtime.
On the positive side, the union is about to get the biggest pay raise in Levy County EMS history.
————————–
Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt February 24, 2022; Posted February 24, 2022
