New McComb firefighters could go from making $9 per hour to $15 per hour under a proposal being considered by the McComb city board.
Selectman Ted Tullos had initially brought the issue to the board and proposed a starting salary of $12 an hour after comparing what other fire departments pay.
Fire Chief Gary McKenzie submitted a report to city administrator David Myers, who was absent Tuesday, about firefighter pay late last year. Reading the report, Johnson noted that non-certified firefighters in Brookhaven started at $13.50 an hour in October 2020, while certified firefighters started at $14.91 an hour.
“Have you started looking in your budget yourself at how we could do the raise?” Johnson asked.
“Yes, I did submit a proposal to Mr. Myers,” McKenzie said.
Mckenzie’s initial proposal included a 15% pay increase for non-certified firefighters and lieutenants and an 18% increase for certified firefighters. He had suggested raising starting pay to $10.77 an hour but selectmen suggested more.
“So right now with a scale of fire departments in the area, McComb is sitting at the lowest, right?” Selectman Shawn Williams asked.
McKenzie agreed and said it has been about eight years since the starting pay rose. He did say there was a 3% pay increase for current employees in October 2021.
“With that 3%, we have an insurance increase also so that basically took that away,” Johnson said.
“It took that and then some,” said McKenzie in agreement.
Johnson said he was comparing what the board did for other departments when adjusting salaries.
“Selectman Tullos recommended $12,” he said. “Me, personally, I still think that doesn’t get us where we need to be.”
“I agree with you, but again, I was charged with working within my budget,” McKenzie said.
Johnson said he appreciated that and recommended the pay start at $14 an hour.
“I think we need to let the fire chief have an opportunity to get with the administrator and see what they can come up with,” Selectman Ronnie Brock said, adding they needed to explain where the money would come from.
Williams then acknowledged the work firefighters do and recommended their starting pay be $15 an hour.
“I hear Mr. Johnson and he says $14, which I think is good,” he said. “I think Mr. Tullos had come with $12. So we want to be fair and competitive because, looking at that, this is (almost) nine years where our fire department sits at the lowest and at the bottom of the fire departments in the area. I want to make a recommendation of $15 that we try to move our firemen up to a good place where it’s comfortable and it’s fair to what we have done with the other departments.”
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley said increasing the firefighters starting salary to $15 an hour would be on the agenda, but he recommended McKenzie and Myers meet first.
“I agree with Selectman Brock that I really think we need to let the fire chief and city administrator meet,” he said.
