Chattanooga FIrefighters get Pay Scale Plan

"In the past, our previous administration the pay plan was they started out with a start out pay, a mid point and a top out but they never gave you any way to get from point A to point B," said Jack Thompson, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters in Chattanooga.

The new plan was  laid out by Mayor Andy Berke, Fire officials, and the International Association of Firefighters Wednesday.
They’ve been working for months to come to an agreement on the pay scale.

"Thanks to the hard work of the people standing up here with me, we have reached a solution to our pay plan. It’s going to help us lift the morale for our firefighters and not only that but help us recruit, retain, and improve the lives of all of our firefighters within the department," said Mayor Berke.

Now firefighters know they’ll have regular raises every two years and how much they’ll make based on their rank and how long they’ve been with the department.
Battalion Chief Don Bowman has been with the department 23 years and is the new father to triplets.
He says this new pay scale will help with family finance planning.

"You’re able to actually sit down five years, ten years down the road and actually know where you should go your finances, give you some direction," said Bowman.

The city allocated approximately $500,000 to fix the CFD pay structure.