El Paso talks cover proposed pay boosts, comp‑time changes and a study of a firefighter health trust

El Paso City staff and representatives of the El Paso Association of Firefighters met to review a draft collective‑bargaining package that includes proposed annual pay increases, changes to step and entry rates, standardized comp‑time rules and a proposal to study a health‑care trust for active and recently retired firefighters.

Sashan Donoski of the Office of Management and Budget opened the staff presentation and said the parties’ proposals include a 7.5% compensation increase each year and changes to incentive pay and steps. Donoski said OMB calculated the total variance between the current contract and a proposed next contract at roughly $66 million (spoken in the transcript as “66 65 8 million”), and that the city’s own proposal came to about $37 million; the presenter characterized the difference between the two sides’ cost estimates as about $28 million.

“The attrition is positive for you guys — we were able to increase the staffing by 35 firefighters, which is 17% from the beginning of the contract,” Donoski said, reporting that roughly 201 firefighters left during the contract period while 236 were added.

A city presenter described the market‑comparison method the office used — the Economic Research Institute (ERI) database — to calculate “adjusted minimum” and “adjusted maximum” pay ranks for each job class after applying geographic factors. The presenter said ERI data are copyrighted and that the city holds a single‑user license for access.

Captain Jay Nicholson, president of the El Paso Association of Firefighters, reviewed the union’s wages and incentives packet and outlined several specific contract proposals: a new comp‑time section standardizing accrual at 1.5 hours for each hour worked and adding a one‑hour travel credit when comp time is granted; increasing the maximum comp‑time accumulation to 480 hours and capping payout on separation at 240 hours, citing a city interpretation of federal overtime rules (referenced in the transcript as “29 codified federal regulation 553.24”); and multiple adjustments to vacation accrual and sellback.

Nicholson said the union proposes a vacation sellback option to reduce forced forfeitures under the current “use it or lose it” rules and to limit vacancies that arise when employees take large blocks of paid leave, which often drives the city to hire replacements on overtime. “Local 51 believes this program will reduce absences and eliminate the use‑it‑or‑lose‑it concern,” Nicholson said.

Other union proposals include changing the uniform allowance from an "initial" allotment to an annual allotment, providing promotional insignia and badges at city expense, formalizing a peer‑support program under an updated Health & Safety Committee, and forming a labor‑management committee to study the feasibility of a health‑care trust to manage insurance for active and recently retired firefighters. Nicholson connected the health‑and‑safety work to legislative changes referenced in the presentation — Texas House Bill 4144 and Texas House Bill 198 — saying both were discussed in the context of firefighter cancer issues.

City staff and union representatives did not take any formal votes during the meeting. Attendees discussed follow‑up scheduling and agreed to target dates next week, with the city team noting that council week would constrain availability.

Next steps: staff will circulate the remaining packet materials and proposed dates for a follow‑up meeting; both sides will have an opportunity to review the detailed wage and incentive packets in advance of the next session.