Livonia study session moves firefighters’ tentative contract to regular agenda after council discussion on wages, benefits and MERP

Mayor (name not specified) and city staff presented a tentative three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Livonia Firefighters Union that the union ratified by about 80% on Feb. 6 and which council members agreed to put on the regular meeting agenda for final consideration.

The agreement covers the period Dec. 1, 2024, through Nov. 30, 2027, and includes pay increases, benefit changes and administrative updates. Mayor (name not specified) said, "This contract will allow us to bring exceptional health care benefits to our employees at affordable prices by no longer tying us to Blue Cross Blue Shield as our sole provider." He told the council the package is intended to help Livonia retain and recruit firefighters after staffing shortfalls earlier in the decade.

Janine Libel, representing the civil service department, outlined pay and administrative changes in the proposal. "In the first year they'll have, excuse me, this year they'll have a 3.5 increase and next year it'll be a 4.5 increase," she said, and added the contract also eliminates wage tiers and folds the uniform cleaning allowance into base pay. Libel said those changes will raise posted starting rates and improve final-average compensation for pension calculations.

Libel described recruiting-related provisions included in the agreement: allowing the department to hire EMTs and train them toward paramedic certification, adding a promotion bonus tied to a new assessment process (replacing a purely seniority-based system) and adding Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday consistent with other bargaining units. She also explained the MERP option, describing it as a national program that allows participating municipalities to hold employees' retirement-health-related funds until vesting and then make payments into the MERP: "The folks at Merp ... said, nope. You can hold on to those funds. You can accrue them on your, you know, on your own books. And then when they would become vested, then the city makes ... a payment to the MERP in that full amount."

Council members praised the negotiators and the union. Councilman Morgan said he supported placing the item on the regular meeting agenda so the contract would not be buried on consent: "I would like to be on its own agenda item if that's okay with my colleagues." Councilman Donovic thanked the administration and union leadership and said the changes would help address staffing and training needs. Several other council members—Councilman Toye, Councilman Scheel and Councilwoman Ozinski—expressed support and asked clarifying questions about MERP and implementation.

No formal final adoption occurred at the study session. Council members voted to place the tentative agreement and related pay adjustments for department leadership on the regular meeting agenda for final action at the upcoming voting meeting.

The contract as presented would: increase wages with phased raises and an initial adjustment to align with police department changes; remove wage tiers so similarly performing employees have comparable pay; include the uniform maintenance allowance in base wage; add recruitment and promotion incentives; permit the MERP option in lieu of direct deposits to the city retirement-health savings plan; and adjust certain administrative dates and the workers-compensation supplement to mirror other bargaining units.

The council asked staff to be prepared at the regular meeting to finalize the contract and accompanying salary and fringe benefit adjustments for the fire chief and deputy chief if council proceeds to a final vote.

What happens next: The tentative agreement and the chief/deputy chief compensation changes will appear as regular agenda items at the council's next voting meeting for a final vote.