Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mt. Vernon council ratifies four labor agreements; city manager flags $1.3M first-year cost for firefighters pact
Summary
The council unanimously approved four collective-bargaining agreements covering firefighters, laborers/teamsters, IBEW and patrol officers that include base hourly increases and multi-year raises; City Manager Nathan McKenna said the firefighter agreement alone is expected to cost about $1.3 million in the first year.
Mt. Vernon — The City Council on May 18 ratified a package of four collective-bargaining agreements and approved a related amendment to the personnel policy that adds Juneteenth as a holiday.
City Manager Nathan McKenna presented a four-year agreement with Local 738 (International Association of Firefighters) that proposes a $2 hourly adjustment and annual increases of 4% the first year and 3% in each of the next three years. The contract also expands sick-leave buyback for retirees and adds additional personal days after 20 and 25 years of service. McKenna said the first-year cost is approximately $1.3 million and that the following three years average roughly $300,000 annually. The council approved the resolution unanimously (Resolution #2026-21).
Council next approved matching wage patterns for two other bargaining groups: a collective-bargaining agreement with Laborers International Union of North America, Local #1197, and Teamsters Local #50 (Resolution #2026-22), and an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Resolution #2026-23). Those agreements were described as aligning with the firefighters' increases and as including adjustments to comp time and sick-time payout provisions.
The council also approved a contract with the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council for patrol officers and detectives that provides a $3 hourly increase plus a 4% raise in year one and 3% in each of the following three years; McKenna said the Police Department has seen turnover and recruitment challenges that the contract is designed to address (Resolution #2026-24).
Following the contracts, the council approved an amendment to the personnel policy to add Juneteenth as a holiday (Resolution #2026-25). McKenna noted the contract for telecommunicators was still under negotiation. All motions passed unanimously. The council recorded the projected first-year fiscal impact for the firefighter contract and authorized staff to implement contract terms per normal payroll and budgeting processes.
