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Bernalillo council approves incentive pay increases for fire department
Summary
The Bernalillo Governing Body unanimously approved updated incentive pay rates for the Bernalillo Fire Department on July 28, 2025, covering bilingual pay, longevity tiers, specialty-team and training/degree stipends; changes take effect for time entered on or after July 28 and will first appear on the August 15 payroll.
The Governing Body of the Town of Bernalillo voted July 28 to approve a package of incentive-pay increases for members of the Bernalillo Fire Department, Finance Director Terri Gray told the council.
The change updates hourly incentive rates and will apply to time entered beginning July 28, 2025, with the adjustments appearing on the August 15, 2025, payroll after completion of Payroll Change Notifications. The council approved the measure by unanimous roll-call vote after a motion by Councilor Torres-Quintana and a second from Councilor Prairie.
The approved schedule increases bilingual pay by $0.45 per hour for members who pass the department-approved proficiency test. Longevity pay was tiered by years of service: 2–4 years ($0.67/hr), 5–7 years ($1.12/hr), 8–10 years ($1.34/hr), 11–13 years ($1.56/hr), 14–15 years ($1.79/hr), 16–18 years ($2.23/hr) and 19+ years ($2.68/hr).
Specialty and instructor stipends were set at $0.22 per hour for active Wildland Team members, Heavy Technical Rescue (HTR) team members, physical fitness trainers (requiring ACE certification), and Training Cadre Instructors (requiring IFSAC Fire Instructor 1). The policy specifies team-membership and training/physical-test requirements and excludes team coordinators from the stipend if they serve as coordinators of overlapping teams.
Degree pay was also formalized: associate degree ($0.22/hr), bachelor’s ($0.45/hr), master’s ($0.67/hr) and PhD ($0.89/hr) upon submission of proof of completion and training documentation.
Council records show the motion to approve incentive pay passed unanimously (Councilors Valverde, Prairie, Montoya and Torres-Quintana recorded "Yea").
The ordinance requires an executed Payroll Change Notification to take effect and the administration indicated the increases will appear on the August 15 payroll run.
