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Council hears public-safety pay proposals: police career ladder and phased fourth-shift for fire
Summary
City staff and firefighter representatives described proposals to move police and fire away from step pay plans toward career-ladder structures and to phase in a fourth shift for firefighters; staff recommended a phased approach beginning with a $205,000 structural change next year and additional hires in later years.
Asheville City staff and the firefighters— association presented competing and complementary options for public-safety compensation at a budget work session, including a police move away from a step plan to a career-ladder structure and a firefighter proposal to add a fourth shift that would reduce individual work hours over time.
Lindsey Spangler and other staff described police—s proposed change to a career ladder, which staff estimated would cost about $1.1 million in the first year to address pay compression and smaller amounts in later years as officers qualify for new steps. Spangler said the figures are preliminary and subject to change.
On the fire side, the firefighters— association proposed a phased fourth-shift plan that would ultimately add 86 firefighter positions over several years and reduce the standard work week from the current 56 hours to about 42 hours. Spangler said the full implementation cost for the proposal was estimated at roughly $6.3 million over six years, with an initial implementation cost for the first fiscal year of about $200,000 primarily for promotions and supervisory coverage. She said the association supported implementing the fourth shift rather than a full immediate pay-plan restructuring for this year.
Former Asheville Fire Chief Scott Burnett, speaking as a retired chief, told council that other North Carolina departments have adopted the four-shift model and that Waynesville and other communities are already recruiting Asheville firefighters. "We lost firefighters already to these other communities," Burnett said, noting regional recruitment pressure from departments operating shorter schedules.
Staff outlined a compromise recommendation: set the fourth-shift structure in place next year with the $205,000 initial cost, then add four to five new firefighter positions in FY27 as part of the next budget to begin operationalizing the shift. Spangler said adding personnel gradually would reduce the number of unpaid or "debit" days that currently fill coverage gaps and, over time, would reduce hours worked and exposure to on-the-job hazards.
Concerns discussed included the fiscal pace of hiring (council members expressed concern about adding many full-time positions in a tight budget), potential morale effects for other departments if resources prioritize fire, and uncertainty over future overtime pay changes. Staff repeatedly emphasized the plan—s long-term nature and implementation risk tied to property-tax impacts and overall fiscal conditions.
Ending: Council members generally supported moving toward the fourth-shift structure but said they wanted options for an accelerated or more gradual pace compared with the proposed five-year buildout, and several council members asked staff to model scenarios that would add a handful of firefighter positions in the current cycle if feasible.
