GREENWOOD, Ind. — At the Greenwood Common Council meeting on Sept. 15, union representatives and active firefighters urged city leaders to raise pay and restore longevity benefits for the fire department, saying the department has fallen far behind comparable jurisdictions.
Bridal Johns, district vice president of Local 4252, told the council, “We are not better today than we were 20 years ago regarding paid benefits,” and presented data he said showed Greenwood falling from the 64th percentile in certified pay in 2012 to the 28th percentile in 2025.
Johns said the decline has driven recruitment and retention problems and criticized what he described as city spending priorities. He said the city has spent about $33,500,000 on the Madison project over five years and acquired more than $2,000,000 in property purchases over nine years, and urged city leaders to “put its people and employees first.”
Tyler Garrett, a Greenwood taxpayer and firefighter who also identified himself as vice president of Local 4252, called the mayor’s proposed 1% raise for 2026 “not only a slap in the face, but it is ultimately a cut in pay” given current inflation. Garrett said Greenwood firefighters earn an average of $119,256 in total compensation, and cited comparisons the speakers provided: Franklin $128,435; Barnardville $138,435; White River Township $140,508.
Both speakers asked the council to ask the mayor for a 2026 budget that addresses police and fire pay, and to restore a longevity benefit they said most departments still offer. They warned that continued low pay will drive departures and raise future recruiting and training costs.
The speakers’ comments came during the council’s public-comment period and did not produce a formal vote or direction at the meeting. Council members heard the remarks immediately before the controller’s budget presentation; the 2026 proposed budget was introduced later in the meeting.
What the council heard: union leaders provided percentile and comparison figures, listed specific salary comparisons and budget priorities, and asked the council to press the mayor to make public-safety pay a budget priority for 2026. No formal action on pay or benefits was taken during the Sept. 15 meeting.