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Cheyenne mayor offers 3% market-based wage increase as talks with firefighters begin

City Council of Cheyenne, Wyoming ยท March 24, 2026

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Summary

At a special session the mayor outlined a city proposal including a 3% market-based wage adjustment and targeted rank increases; the union said it would accept the 3% as part of a package contingent on extending a COLA sunset clause and MERP language and both sides agreed to finalize language in two weeks.

The City of Cheyenne and representatives of the Cheyenne Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 279, met in a special session March 23 to begin collective bargaining.

Mayor Mary Collins presented the city's compensation analysis and offered a package that included a 3% increase applied to added pays (longevity, EMT, shift differential and similar items), an increase to probationary firefighter pay to narrow the gap with step 4, and targeted raises for captains and battalion chiefs to address pay compression. "We would like to offer a 3% raise for everyone," the mayor said while outlining compression adjustments for higher ranks.

The union responded that it was willing to accept the city's proposed 3% market-based adjustment as part of a framework, but made acceptance contingent on several items: extension of the current COLA-sunset clause through the duration of the new agreement, acceptance of MERP (a legacy retirement/benefit program) language, and other clarifying contract items regarding vacation-slot selection and conversion rules.

Negotiators discussed operational provisions intended to limit overtime, vacation-slot language for on-duty staffing, conversion of benefit hours for daytime personnel, sick-leave flexibility, and timing for accruals. City staff and the union agreed on several wording points and planned follow-up work with the fire chief and deputy chief to finalize language. Parties agreed to reconvene and present finalized contract language to the governing body in approximately two weeks.

No final contract was ratified at the special session; both sides described progress and set a schedule to finalize language before bringing formal action back to the council.