The City Council is being asked to approve a tentative agreement for the renewal of a labor contract between the City and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 521.  The contract was voted on and approved by Local 521 on June 14 and 15.  If approved, the contract will go into effect on July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023, with wage re-openers only in the last two years of the contract.

Changes to the contract include:

• A 2.9% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the first year of the contract, effective July 1, 2018;
• A 2.9% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the second year of the contract, effective July 1, 2019;
• A 2.9% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the third year of the contract, effective July 1, 2020;
• A cost of living adjustment (COLA) to be negotiated only in the fourth and fifth years of the contract, effective July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022;
• Fire Marshal promotional requirement changed from six months to five years of service in the Billings Fire Prevention Bureau;
• Assistant Fire Marshal promotional requirement changed from six months to three years of service in the Billings Fire Prevention Bureau;
• Deputy Fire Marshals shall have the ability to advance to step G in the pay plan;
• Limited the amount paid through salary to retirement to the actual increase in the City's portion of the premium or 15%, whichever is less;
• In the absence of the Fire Chief or Assistant Fire Chief, the Fire Marshal or the Training Chief may Hi-C to the Assistant Fire Chief position;
• Vacancies created by training will be filled by on shift personnel when available and will be done utilizing the lowest rank possible.  This reduces overtime paid for training;
• Paternity leave language was deleted and provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were added.
• Battalion Chief promotional requirement changed from 5 to 15 years of satisfactory service and must be the rank of Captain, and not just Captain-qualified; 
• Non-exempt uniform day personnel allowed to accrue compensatory time increased from 40 to 80 hours maximum;
• Uniform allowance increased from $375 to $450;
• Union will have two appointees on the selection committee for Assistant Chief recruitment;
• Increased the pay grade for Assistant Training Officer/EMS Coordinator from Grade 213 to 217, but lowered the steps allowed for promotional purposes.
• Increased the pay grade for Training Chief from Grade 221 to 228.

 A copy of the contract is available for review in the City Clerk's office. 

City Council may:

• Approve the  contract as presented, with cost of living adjustment (COLA) effective July 1, 2018.
• Postpone action on the contract to obtain additional information; or
• Deny approval of the contract, forcing negotiations to resume.

The COLA in the contract will cost an additional $305,071 in each year of the first three years of the contract, with a wage reopener to be negotiated in the final two years of the contract.  There is adequate funding in General Fund reserves to cover the increases, although a budget amendment will follow.

The increase in the cost of the health insurance to retirement benefit will depend on the increase in the cost of health insurance, which will not be known until January of each year.

The cost for the Deputy Fire Marshals to advance to Step G costs $3,000 to $6,000 each year of the contract.

The total cost to move the Training Officer from Grade 221 to Grade 228 and the Assistant Training Officer/EMS Coordinator from Grade 213 to Grade 217 is approximately $4,700.  This language will save money on future promotions to these positions, because it determines what pay step each rank of fire employee will be paid.  

The cost to increase the Uniform Allowance is $8,775.

The City will recognize considerable savings by filling training vacancies with Hi-C pay versus overtime pay, with the deletion of "Personnel backfilling these positions are eligible for overtime."
 

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the City - Local 521 IAFF collective bargaining agreement as presented, effective July 1, 2018.