Escambia County offers smaller wage package in IAFF talks; union presses for pay scale and funding plan

Escambia County officials and members of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) met Feb. 24 for continued contract negotiations focused on wages, a proposed pay scale, holiday and leave language, and certification credit, county HR Director Nikki Powell said.

In a meeting that lasted more than two hours, Powell outlined a county counterproposal that reduced the union’s roughly $7 million initial wage request to about $1.7 million in near‑term funding and an implementation option that would place employees into a new pay chart at an estimated $4.4 million, she said. Powell also noted pension costs the county must cover, saying the Florida Retirement System requires “almost 35% of your salary” in employer contributions for these positions.

The wage figures were the central point of debate. Union members pressed for a contractual wage progression — a multi‑step pay scale — that they say would reduce pay compression between new hires and long‑tenured firefighters, improve recruitment and retention, and provide predictable, recurring increases. “In order to make a decent living in Escambia County, we—re not with the times right now,” IAFF member David Carviosa said during public remarks.

Powell said county staff reworked the county—s response after reviewing the union proposal and comparable agencies. She said the county could not…