Some of Atlanta’s firefighters have spent the past few weeks trekking to City Hall to voice concerns over a pay study conducted by the city that they say falls short.
President of Atlanta Professional Firefighters Nate Bailey testified at council that the final results of the pay study — recently approved by the body — were “devastating.” He said under the salary recommendations, most lieutenants would only see a salary increase of about $58 per year.
In an unexpected appearance at the council’s Finance and Executive Committee meeting last Wednesday, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called the union’s concerns politically motivated.
“Every other union in this city stood behind us when we signed that document, when we signed that company class study into law — except one,” Dickens said.
Union leaders say the officials requested that larger, higher-paying cities be removed from the compensation study, dipping the final salary recommendations for Atlanta’s firefighters. Dickens disagrees and said that places like Los Angeles and New York have much larger populations than Atlanta, which is why they were removed.
“To say that we’re not competitive when their salaries are now, indeed, higher than everybody else in the metro area and everybody else in the state of Georgia, is a lie and it’s categorically false,” the mayor said.
But the mayor’s comments were followed by members of the fire department who said that they’re struggling to get by financially and don’t anticipate the bump from the pay study to make a significant difference.
Brian Kittrell, an Atlanta firefighter and paramedic, said that between the pay bumps the city is giving to all employees over the next two years, he anticipates making only about $100 more each paycheck.
“I’ve got four kids, I have to work overtime or a part-time job in order to provide for my family,” he said.
Kittrell said it’s not uncommon for the busy fire station he works at to operate 24 hours a day — flooded with a variety of calls from car accidents and building fires to medical emergencies.
“As (pay) stands, it is hard for me to keep my younger members here — it’s hard for me to keep myself here a lot of days,” he told city council members. “If there’s anything more that you can do, we would greatly appreciate it.”
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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Last year, Atlanta’s elected officials celebrated a 21% decrease in homicides across the city. It wasn’t just Atlanta. The nation also had the largest single-year decrease in recent history.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum shared good news with members of the public safety committee this week that homicides are still trending downward compared to last year. So far in 2024, the department has investigated 84 homicides — compared to 89 at this time last year and 114 in 2022.
Schierbaum said escalating disputes are still the number one driver of homicides and gave an example of a case where an argument over an unpaid hookah bill led to gunfire that ended in a fatality.
“I’m sure citizens woke up on that street the next day felt their neighborhood was less safe,” he said. “If we could only have told them at the time it was a fight over an unpaid bill.”
Public safety officials have also sounded the alarm on the increasing number of domestic violence disputes leading to homicides in private residences.
“If you see someone you believe may be in a relationship where the signs are there is a domestic violence situation, please help that individual get the resources they need, and to exit those relationships,” Schierbaum said. “So we can turn around this trend.”
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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Congratulations to LaChandra Burks for being permanently named the city’s Chief Operating Officer. Burks has served as interim chief operating officer since May when Lisa Benjamin left the role.
Burks has worked under five mayoral administration and previously served as deputy chief operating officer for three years. Prior to that she held a leadership role as Interim Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
At City Hall, she often leads presentations to council on crucial issues like the recent water crisis and updates on city projects like the public safety training facility.
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