By Amanda Martinez
Special to the SUN
Española Fire Department employees will receive raises thanks to an increase in the department’s pay plan approved by the City Council on Oct. 14.
The lowest paid fire department employees will see their hourly rate go from $15 to $17 per hour — or a 12.5% increase.
Assistant Fire Chief John Wickersham said the increase was desperately needed for the city to retain the firefighters it has on staff. He credited the strength of the firefighters union for making the raises possible.
The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4339 is the strongest union in the city, he said.
“From the get-go, for years it has been a really strong union, and so we work well with the union, we work well with the chiefs,” he said. “A few years ago, we got the pay plan in place, which is huge, and it’s the only department in the city that actually has a plan in place.”
The increase will impact all levels of employees, including Chief Johnny Martinez, Fire Marshall Pablo Montoya and Wickersham.
The department has the lowest hourly wages for firefighters in the surrounding area. According to a compensation study by the Española Fire Department, the average wage of nearby departments is $21.70, or about 24% higher than those in Española.
A letter from the union sent to council states that three employees with a combined 16 years of experience left the department in the last year. The majority of employees who leave do so for better pay in neighboring departments.
“This has a negative impact, not only on Española Fire/Rescue but also the City of Española by losing valuable personnel with years of experience,” the letter states. “When these individuals leave, Española Fire/Rescue must hire new personnel, and these new hires have little to no knowledge of the fire service. Española Fire/Rescue then spends time and money to train these new hires to become effective team members. Currently, Española fire has nine individuals out of the fifteen, with less than 5 years of fire service.”
Taos Village entry-level fire fighters are paid $18.88, according to the compensation study, or about 10% more than Española. The number only increases, with Santa Fe County paying $20.47, the city of Santa Fe paying $21.59, Los Alamos paying $23.10 and Taos County paying $24.44.
Española Fire Department leaders will also receive increases of about 9.5%.
Montoya will go from $33 per hour to $36.30, Wickersham will go from $38.32 to $42.15 and Martinez will go from $41.18 to $45.30.
The fire department is utilizing existing funding to cover these raises and eliminated one position to make them possible, Wickersham said.
The money comes from city Gross Receipt Taxes, which gets allocated each year to the city’s public safety departments. Wickersham said the amount is about $130,000.
City Employees
Other departments are still struggling with low wages.
During the Oct. 14 meeting, several city employees spoke about the lack of raises in other departments.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1188 Union member Senior Center Supervisor Greta Trujillo spoke during public comment. She said their union has not renegotiated its contract with the city since 2011.
“Through all these 14 years, the cost of living has gone way up,” she said to councilors. “Job responsibilities and community needs have changed. Yet, our contract does not reflect the reality of all these changes. We, as employees, take great pride in serving our city and its residents, daily. We believe a fair and modern, up-to-date agreement will help us to continue effectively. We ask for your support in reaching a fair and equitable resolution that recognizes the value of our work and will also help strengthen our city workforce.”
City Manager Lauren Reichelt said increasing employees’ wages is one of her top priorities.
She was shocked to learn that the last time the city negotiated its contract with employees was in 2011, she said.
“I am very concerned about them making a living wage and that has got to be the number one priority because some of them have put in 10, 20 or more years with the city,” she said in a telephone interview.