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Council approves police and fire contracts; introduces companion salary ordinances and discusses funding
Summary
The Common Council adopted collective-bargaining agreements for the police and fire unions and introduced salary ordinances for both departments. Council and public debate centered on using opioid-settlement funds and the possibility of future local tax changes to pay for recurring increases.
MUNCIE, Ind. — The Muncie Common Council on March 3 adopted collective-bargaining agreements with the city’s police and fire unions and introduced salary ordinances to implement pay increases for 2025, prompting questions during public comment and from council members about long-term funding.
The council adopted Resolution 7-25, approving the contract with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 87, and Resolution 8-25, approving the contract with Muncie Firefighters Local 1348. Both resolutions were approved by roll call.
In parallel, the council introduced Ordinance 11-25 and Ordinance 12-25 — salary ordinances that set maximum salaries for the police and fire departments for 2025. City finance staff explained the ordinances convert annual salary amounts to biweekly pay and reflect a 5% increase for 2025. Controller Greg Wright and Deputy Controller Matt Waggly presented the salary calculations and noted a typographical error in the ordinance effective date that staff said would be corrected to January 1, 2025.
Union and department leaders urged council support, saying pay increases are intended to address recruitment and retention. Brandon Qualls, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 87, told the council the department has struggled to keep officers, noting recent departures and competition from higher-paying neighboring agencies. Qualls said the proposed increases would make Muncie more competitive and support staffing. Jason Chaffin, president of Muncie Firefighters Local 1348, said the fire department is among the busiest in the state on a per-capita basis and described recent losses of trained paramedics.
City staff told the council they plan to use unrestricted opioid-settlement funds for part of the 2025 increases. Controller Greg Wright quoted an unrestricted balance of $526,072.77 and a total settlement accumulation figure in the meeting record; officials said restricted and unrestricted settlement amounts differ and that the opioid-settlement distribution is expected to continue for multiple years. Council members pressed for clear timelines and also raised the risk that pending state property-tax reform could reduce local revenues in future years.
Several members of the public urged caution. Resident Audie Barber said repeated raises could lead to pressure to increase the local income tax. Others — including officers and department leaders — urged the council to act, saying shortfalls in staffing reduce service capacity. Sergeant Amy Kessler and training director Brian Ashton described community-engagement work that they said requires additional personnel and funding.
Council members recorded roll-call votes for the resolutions adopting the contracts and introduced the salary ordinances for further action. Finance staff said appropriations and payroll adjustments to implement the adopted contracts and any retroactive pay would be scheduled after the ordinance-adoption steps required by city code.
Proponents and council supporters said they will provide public-facing information on the proposals and the potential tax impacts if a local tax adjustment were to be recommended later; council members asked unions and city administration to prepare comparative pay charts and dollar-amount examples for public distribution.
What the council did
- Adopted Resolution 7-25 (police union contract) by roll call vote. - Adopted Resolution 8-25 (fire union contract) by roll call vote. - Introduced Ordinance 11-25 (police salary ordinance) and Ordinance 12-25 (fire salary ordinance); staff noted a correction to the effective date will be made.
Why it matters
The actions set out a path to raise pay for public-safety employees in 2025 and to implement negotiated contract terms; they also tie into short-term funding choices (opioid-settlement funds) and longer-term revenue questions (potential local tax adjustments and state property-tax reform). The council directed staff to return with implementation details and to correct the ordinance text.
