Brevard firefighters seek new contract, more competitive pay, as attrition remains issue

Who earns more, a rookie Brevard County firefighter or a new fast-food employee?

Actually, they earn about the same: $15 an hour.

Brevard County Fire Rescue union members are approaching the end of their current three-year contract, and union officials hope to see a substantial pay bump in the next contract.

County commissioners, though, may be reluctant to do so, saying county rules restrict them from raising property taxes enough for the pay increase.

On Tuesday, a contingent of union members and their supporters plan to be at the Brevard County Commission meeting to urge commissioners to back the firefighters in their fight for more money. They also plan to rally at the Brevard County Government Center at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, in advance of the 5 p.m. commission meeting.

"It's no secret that we have not been competitively paid," said Brevard County Professional Firefighters Local 2969 President Michael Bramson, who also is a lieutenant with Brevard County Fire Rescue. "Pay has always been a challenge in Brevard County. They risk their lives. They risk their health," and should be compensated appropriately.

Bramson said there also are issues with unexpected mandatory overtime because of staffing shortages and scheduling issues, as the union seeks to create a better work/life balance for its members.

Fire assessment increase: Brevard Commission approves 29% effective fire fee hike, stalls 24-hour alcohol sales

During a County Commission budget workshop earlier this year, more than two dozen firefighters and their supporters filled the audience, wearing yellow shirts with the union logo in a show of solidarity, and seven addressed the commission.

They generally said they like being a firefighter, but were less-than-pleased with their pay at BCFR.

Among the speakers was longtime firefighter Joshua Madsen of Indian Harbour Beach.

Noting that the starting pay of Brevard firefighters is $15 an hour, Madsen said, "$15 an hour for a trained professional isn't a lot of money, putting their life on the line" fighting fires, plus handling emergency medical calls.

"The new guys aren't going to stick around," if they get lured to another department by higher pay, Madsen said.

Veteran firefighter also aren't getting the raises they deserve, Madsen contends, and the raises aren't keeping up with inflation.

"I've been here for a long time," Madsen said. "My last raise over the last four years was a total of 8%. Inflation was 22.37%. So I lost 14% by staying. Do I keep doing the same job? Do I do 14% less? No, I still do the same job."

"The new guys come on … they get on the job, and then they look at the people that have dedicated their lives here. They see that have not been taken care of," Madsen added.

Among the "new guys" addressing commissioners was BCFR firefighter Carlos Sandi of Melbourne, who said he received a partial scholarship from the county to attend fire school.

Sandi told county commissioners that "the general consensus is that BCFR is a steppingstone department — start here, and then go somewhere else once the opportunity arises." Sandi said he knows of firefighters who started looking for other jobs after just three months on the job with BCFR.

"It's no secret that every department in the state of Florida is hiring, many with substantially higher pay," Sandi said.

County Commission Vice Chair Rita Pritchett indicated that she was concerned about what she heard from the firefighters at the meeting — especially after the commission had approved increases in 2018 and 2021 in the annual fire assessment fees paid by property owners, in part to make BCFR firefighter pay more competitive.

Those fees are paid by property owners in unincorporated areas of Brevard, as well as in the cities and towns that contract with BCFR for firefighting services. The latest fee increase, approved by commissioners in 2021, was 29%.

"So I'm guessing you're not making $45,000 to $50,000 a year?" Pritchett asked Sandi after his three-minute public comment to commissioners ended.

"You would guess correctly," Sandi responded.

Fire chief: Steps being taken to address issues

During the budget workshop, Brevard County Fire Rescue Chief Patrick Voltaire discussed ways his department is working to address personnel issues.

While he did not go into dollars-and-cents detail, Voltaire promised to "work to adjust employee salaries so we can continue recruiting and, just as important, retaining, those recruits and our more seasoned members alike. We're not going to say it's not a challenge, because it is."

BCFR found itself in a financial hole after a different group of county commissioners in 2008 approved reducing fire assessments by about 15%. That forced BCFR to dip into its reserves to balance its budget, resulting in reserves dropping from about $14.2 million to about $1.2 million during the following decade, before commissioners approved increases in the assessments in 2018 and 2021, which helped boost the reserves.

Voltaire conceded during his presentation that mandatory overtime for BCFR staff historically "has been a reoccurring problem."

Voltaire said the department is in the midst of a plan to increase its field personnel from 454 to 534 over a six-year period, in part to prepare for the opening of new fire stations in west Viera in August, and in west Port St. John and south Palm Bay in 2026. The staff increase includes a commitment to add 39 additional "floaters," who will work at multiple stations to help reduce mandatory overtime.

BCFR also has stepped up its recruiting efforts. Voltaire said that includes hiring a full-time recruiter who attends local job fairs and works with Brevard Public Schools to develop a firefighter recruit program at Palm Bay Magnet High School. Voltaire said the county also offers scholarships worth about $6,000 apiece for training for firefighters who agree to stay in the department for at least two years.

County officials say firefighters typically work 3,011 hours a year, based on their 24-hour shift schedules. which averages about 58 hours a week, and get overtime after they work more than 53 hours a week. Paramedics get overtime after working 40 hours a week.

'Hands are tied' by tax increase restrictions

On Tuesday, firefighters and their supporters, wearing yellow in support of the firefighters' union, will rally outside the government center buildings, then speak during public comment at the County Commission meeting. The rally will have a dual purpose, also focusing on First Amendment rights of residents, amid their concerns over proposed changes in how public speakers are treated at meetings ― an issue commissioners plan to discuss on Tuesday.

Brevard County Commission Chair Jason Steele said he would like to do all he can to give the union members increased pay in their new contract, which would take effect Oct. 1.

"I want them to get as much money as they can, but our hands are tied," Steele said.

The problem, Steele said, is voter-approved restrictions found in the county charter limiting the year-to-year percentage increases in how much money can be raised through property taxes. It would take the support of four out of the five commissioners to, in effect, bust the cap.

Steele said he is willing to vote to do that for firefighter pay raises. But he is ending his term on the commission in November, and is not running for election to a new term. Two other commissioners are seeking higher office this year, and Steele said it would be political suicide for them or other commissioners planning to run for election in the future to vote to exceed the charter cap.

"There is nothing more important to me than public safety," Steele said. "I am all in favor of helping the firefighters to the nth degree, when they risk their lives for the general public. I would do it in one-tenth of a second."

But, Steele added, with the political realities related to tax increases, "I don't think we're going to be able to meet what they want" in union negotiations.

Importance of experience

Current and former firefighters, however, say not giving firefighters an attractive contract would be a mistake, and would cost the department the vital experience it needs in its crews, who respond to medical calls countywide.

Grant-Valkaria resident Christina Fleming, who retired from BCFR after 25 years in the department, warned commissioners that retention of the BCFR staff is important, as opposed to continually hiring new employees.

"Pretty soon, you're going to have a really unqualified fire department, because you're going to have fresh-out-of-school kids," Fleming said. "You're not going to have the people who have been there for 18-plus years, that want to work for the county because we love the county."

Melbourne resident Michael Benton, a firefighter for 19 years, said, if his mother called 911 for help with a medical emergency, "I want to know that the people that are coming to help her, and mitigate her emergency, are experienced. I want to know that they're not working on mandatory overtime, on their kid's birthday. I want to know that their mind is focused on the emergency at hand. Experience is important."

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard fire union seeks new contract to help combat BCFR attrition