MCBOCC approves new contract with Fire Union
[Photo by James Lucas, MCFR]
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a new contract with the Professional Fire Fighters of Marion County (PFFMC) after it received approval by 93% of its members.
The contract includes raises and “loyalty incentives” to help attract and retain employees for a department struggling to fill vacancies.
The three-year contract is expected to cost $21 million, according to a county news release. Commissioner Carl Zalak said that while the contract reflects a commitment from the board to support the department, the board would have to make difficult decisions in other parts of the county’s budget to support it going forward.
Negotiations began in September 2022 and the sides became frustrated after no progress was made and the short-handed department had to provide increased services due to a rapidly growing population.
One of the reasons for renegotiating the contract earlier than expected had to do with meeting minimum wage requirements. While most businesses impacted by the 2022 General Appropriations Act were allowed to increase to a $15 minimum wage gradually, Florida was required to pay employees who provide direct care to Medicaid recipients $15 per hour. This initiative meant all Marion County EMTs were bumped immediately from $13.75 an hour to $15, significantly impacting the wage matrix previously negotiated.
However, the biggest issue of the contract was addressing the staffing shortage caused by workers seeking higher wages in neighboring counties. As previously reported, numerous Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) employees have resigned from the department over the past five years:
2018 -54 2019-33 2020-46 2021-67 2022-72 2023YTD-4 TOTAL 276
These numbers do not include 68 others who either retired or were transferred or fired over the past five years.
Here is the new contract’s pay scale:
| Classification | Minimum | Maximum |
| Single-Certified Firefighter | $15.00 | $26.25 |
| Single-Certified EMT | $15.00 | $26.25 |
| Single-Certified Paramedic | $18.74 | $32.80 |
| Dual-Certified EMT/Firefighter | $15.25 | $26.69 |
| Dual-Certified PM/Firefighter | $18.25 | $31.94 |
| Driver Engineer I | $19.93 | $34.88 |
| EMS Lieutenant | $22.52 | $39.41 |
| Lieutenant | $22.52 | $39.41 |
| EMS Captain | $25.69 | $44.96 |
| Captain | $25.69 | $44.96 |
Under the old contract, paramedics were set to get a 3% increase as of Oct. 1, 2023. The new contract maintains that and includes an additional 2% cost of living increase across the department.
Another notable part of the contract is the creation of “loyalty incentives” as a way to reward employees with five or more years of uninterrupted service with Marion County with a 5% bump in their hourly rate.
Over the past year, the county’s medical director has expressed concerns that the quality of care the public receives could be negatively impacted if there were not enough experienced medics working alongside the newer ones. The union echoed the medical director’s sentiment but added that experienced firefighters and paramedics also play a role in maintaining calm within the department while doing a stressful job, which is as important to maintaining mental health as it is the morale of the department.
Union spokesperson MCFR Capt. Joe Romani explained that the new contract also incentivizes people to move up in rank, which was an ongoing need for the department.
“Our industry is different from corporate America where if you need a manager, you may hire a manager from another area,’’ he said. “That does not translate well in our case where trust and leadership can only be built up over time serving the organization and knowing it well.”
Additionally, Romani told the “Gazette” that many firefighter/paramedics don’t relish taking on the administrative side of fire service in exchange for being out in the field.
MCFR, which handles all ambulance transport in Marion County, even though Ocala Fire Rescue serves the city, needs 175 personnel to staff each typical shift with the current station and emergency vehicle capacity. That breaks down to eight commanding officers, 72 engine operators, nine assigned to ladder/tower firefighters, six to heavy rescue, 54 dual-certified Paramedic/Firefighters and 26 singled-certified EMS/Firefighters.
At a recent fire workshop with the county commissioners, MCFR Chief James Banta told the board, “There are 492 budgeted positions. Currently, there are 458 of those positions filled for a vacancy of roughly 34 positions.”
However, Banta explained, those numbers need context when it comes to understanding how many boots on the ground are currently available. Of the 458 employees, “33 … are in fire school right now, so they’re not on the truck. While it says it’s a position that’s filled, they’re not on the truck and they’re not going to be there for several months.”
Deputy Chief of Marion County Fire Rescue Robert Graff, left, and Chief James Banta, right, listen during the Marion County Commission meeting at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, June 20 2023. The County Commission, with only three members present, unanimously approved the adoption of the Amended Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Professional Firefighters of Marion County, Local 3169, and the Board of County Commissioners during the meeting. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
By the end of April this year, it was estimated by the union that firefighter/paramedics had already worked an additional 14,000 hours above what they were expected to serve mandatorily in an average 56-hour work week.
It remains to be seen whether the contract modifications will help fill the department’s staffing shortages.
“It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts things and examine it again at the six-month and one-year mark. But it’s our hope that we draw the best and brightest to come work in Marion County,” said Romani.
“Hopefully, it will help us staff the five new fire stations Chief Banta has told the county we currently need,” he added.
In a written statement, Banta characterized the new contract as “one of the best contracts’’ of his career. Referencing a Florida Fire Chiefs Association white paper recently published to address critical staffing shortages across the state, Banta said it’s “imperative that fire departments figure out how to retain their employees to provide essential services.”
“It (the new contract) was a great collaboration between the board, union, county administration and fire executive staff,” Banta wrote. “It reflects our commitment to investing in our employees for the long term.”
MCBOCC chair Craig Curry concluded the agenda item by acknowledging that this was only the beginning of his interest in improving the lives of firefighters, particularly as it came to their working involuntary overtime.
In a media release following the meeting, PFFMC also acknowledged there was more work to be done to “improve the future, culture and health of its members in MCFR. Advancements in mental health care and treatment must continue in light of our recent tragedies and struggles within MCFR. The department must prioritize increasing response capabilities, building new fire stations, and decreasing workload for its responders, all while juggling the recent explosive growth in Marion County.”
Union President Rolin Boyd stated in the release that he felt the contract would help do away with the involuntary overtime “and create a positive environment for the members.”
Support community journalism
The first goal of the Ocala Gazette is to deliver trustworthy local journalism so corruption, misinformation and abuse are not hidden from the public or unchallenged.
