City and Fire Union Reach Tentative Agreements on Pay, Leave Two Items Open

City of Beaumont negotiators and representatives of Local 399 tentatively agreed to language on maintenance of standards, most contract definitions (the union's proposed definition of "benefit" was removed), additional/certification pay and parts of a revised wage table, but left seniority/promotions and department-committee scheduling unresolved. The parties said the tentative agreements (TAs) will be packaged for union ratification and then presented to city council for final approval.

The tentative pay package presented by city negotiators included a three-year wage proposal described in sessions as a "7/4/3" plan (7% on ratification, 4% later in the year, then a 3% step in the final year, as presented), new certification/incentive pay and the addition of an assistant chief position to the wage table with a step increase to be calculated. The city representative said the full package would raise total compensation for the fire department by 22.15% and estimated a total dollar increase in the neighborhood of $5 million; the city also supplied a separate line-item estimate the negotiators described as about $1.6 million for newly created incentive pay. All dollar and percentage figures were stated in the meeting by city negotiators and are reported here as spoken.

Why it matters: the tentative agreements would add recurring pay and new certification bonuses for firefighters, alter starting pay levels the city compared with peer cities, and add an assistant chief to the department wage table — all items the negotiators said are intended to address recruitment and retention.

What the parties agreed and what remains - Tentative agreements: the parties agreed (TA) on maintenance-of-standards language and on contract definitions with the exception of the union's separate "benefit" definition. The parties also TA'd additional/certification pay (city proposed E2 and E3 payments at $1.50 and $2.25 and a paramedic premium of $4.50 per pay period as shown in the draft) and on several entries in the revised wage table, including adding the assistant chief to the table. Negotiators also said they had no substantive objections to the random drug-testing policy language aside from housekeeping edits. - Outstanding items: seniority, promotions and transfers language (specifically whether assistant chiefs should be appointed by the chief or governed by new qualification requirements) and the department-committee scheduling language remained unresolved. Union negotiators pressed that language creating narrow eligibility for promotion appeared to fit only two current employees; city negotiators said many of the proposed requirements were drawn from job descriptions. The union also sought clarity about how committee meetings would be scheduled when membership-appointed and chief-appointed committee members disagree.

Wages and incentives (as presented in the meeting) - The city described a three-year wage path characterized repeatedly in the meeting as "7/4/3" (presented as a 7% increase on ratification, a 4% step later in the calendar year and a 3% step in the final year). City negotiators said the package would produce a 22.15% total compensation increase when wages and incentive payments are combined and cited new starting firefighter pay in their comparables analysis (they stated $65,700 and said under this proposal new hires would start above $70,000). - Certification/incentive pay proposed in the draft: E2 = $1.50, E3 = $2.25 and paramedic (P1) = $4.50 (figures reported by negotiators in the meeting). City negotiators described roughly $1.6 million in new money for certification/incentive pay in the package. - Assistant chief: the parties agreed to add an assistant chief to the wage table. The meeting record shows negotiators agreed to apply a step increase equal to a 2% difference (the same percentage in the deputy chief progression) for the assistant chief's second step; the precise dollar impact will be calculated and delivered to the parties.

Process and next steps - The TAs are conditional: both parties said the full package would be presented to union membership for a ratification vote and, if ratified, then to city council for final approval. The negotiators discussed a possible city council meeting date (Feb. 18) as the earliest likely council review, and asked for time to prepare a codified, renumbered contract draft with housekeeping edits. - Mediated process: the session was conducted with a federal mediator present and the parties used caucus periods to resolve outstanding items. Negotiators said the mediator (identified in the meeting as Mr. Williams) and FMCS staff assisted with document drafting and procedural steps.

Outstanding clarifications and follow-ups requested in the meeting - The union asked the city to circulate the statutory text referenced in the discussions (identified in the transcript as the definition in "chapter 174") so both sides could align contract language with the statutory definition. - City negotiators agreed to provide cost breakdown spreadsheets for the package and to calculate the assistant chief step dollar amount and circulate them to the parties. - The parties agreed to produce a single codified draft that incorporates TA'd items, removes definitions the union objected to, and shows renumbered articles and appendices for review prior to the membership vote.

Context and quotes from negotiators - City negotiators described the package as aimed at pay equity, recruitment and retention and said the proposal places the city's firefighter pay in the top tier of comparable cities. "This total package increases your compensation by 22.15%," a city negotiator said during the presentation of the package. Union negotiators said they needed time to take the package to membership and raised procedural and substantive questions about promotion eligibility and committee scheduling.

What remains public: negotiators repeatedly stated that several items required member ratification and city council action, and that the tentative agreements would be sent to both parties with track changes for final review before printing and distribution to membership and council.