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Piedmont council approves Fire Department adjustment plan and new turnout gear as members press pay concerns
Summary
On Jan. 7, 2025, the Piedmont City Council approved a Fire Department adjustment plan and purchased turnout gear, while some councilmembers raised concerns about low wages and the revenue needed to fund raises.
The Piedmont City Council approved a Fire Department adjustment plan and authorized new turnout gear during its Jan. 7, 2025 meeting.
Chief Todd Kirkland presented the department’s adjustment plan, which councilmembers approved after a motion from Terry Kiser and a second from Richard Williams. The council also approved a $8,655.00 purchase of turnout gear from Central Alabama Training Solution after Clerk Hinton confirmed recent facility improvements to the gym stage and upstairs banquet room.
Council debate during and after the vote touched on employee pay. Councilmember Jubal Feazell said, “our wages are low in many departments and we need to find a way to increase them,” and said he supported the Fire Department increase to avoid losing officers. Councilmember Greg South said he also wanted raises but cautioned that the city must be able to justify higher pay and avoid making Piedmont residents “absorb the raises with an increase in utility rates.”
Mayor Baker and other councilmembers acknowledged the tension between recruiting and retaining staff and the limits of the city’s revenue. Council members did not adopt a specific pay plan at the meeting; discussion of wages remained at the level of expressed support and caution, with no formal directive recorded.
The council’s approvals were made by motion and voice vote during the regular meeting; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript. The council set its next regular meeting for Jan. 21, 2025.
