Andy BerkeA long-awaited plan to fix unequal pay in the Chattanooga Fire Department was implemented today, giving employees a three percent pay increase every two years.
Currently, firefighters can't get pay raises unless they are promoted or the city implements a departmental salary increase.
That will change and retroactively go into affect for July 1, said Mayor Andy Berke at a news conference this afternoon. The plan will cost about $400,000 extra for firefighters salaries.
In the process of fixing the pay, some firefighters will get immediate pay increases while others will have their pay frozen. But no one will get their pay cut, officials said.
Earlier this year, the city pledged nearly $1 million to the police department to fix what officials called larger unequal pay among the staff that had prompted two lawsuits.