ODESSA, Texas — The possibility of a raise for local firefighters was on the agenda for the Odessa City Council Tuesday night.
Several members of Odessa Fire Rescue were in attendance, including Fire Chief John Alvarez.
During the meeting, Alvarez told the council the department had lost 30 employees since the beginning of the year. 13 of those had quit in the last 11 weeks.
Alvarez cited a variety of reasons for the firefighters leaving, including moving for family or applying to different fire departments across the country due to better pay or morale.
Another common issue mentioned by Alvarez and other firefighters who spoke at the meeting was new recruits passing over Odessa to go to Pecos and Lubbock due to their better pay.
In addition to the discussion about raises, the council had some heated moments concerning the way the matter was brought about to the council, as an employee of OFR reportedly approached the council without the chief's knowledge.
"We see things that are being done that we're not involved with. And what I'm talking about is, you have members of our association that's meeting with council members and not involving us as leaders," Alvarez said.
City council members also discussed an ongoing study being conducted by an outside company about the workers in the city.
Some members of the council, including Tom Sprawls, said they did not want to vote on a raise for the firefighters until the study was completed despite the passionate pleas from the citizens who spoke.
Others like Mark Matta said they did not feel a need to wait for the study because the department has already lost so many people.
"We have the money. We have ARPA funds. That money was designed for firefighters that worked 24/7 during COVID, that worked seven days a week," councilwoman Denise Swanner said.
Prior to the discussion of the firefighters' raises, the city approved a purchase of over $3 million for replacement engines and a replacement ladder truck for OFR.
"We are forgetting the biggest asset of this department, which is the firefighters themselves, what good is the equipment going to be?," Matta said. "We just opened up a new station, station number nine, this being fully staffed by overtime employees because we don't have the 18 personnel that's needed to fully staff that station."
Council members heard from one of the people involved in the study, who informed the council the survey conductors would be prepared to provide recommendations at the next regular city council meeting on Oct. 11.
The raise proposed during the council meeting were as follows:
- New starting pay-$65,823 (22% increase)
- Captain pay-$84,675 (15% increase)
- Division Captain pay-$94,183 (12% increase)
- Battalion chief pay-$103,492 (8% increase)
In the end, the vote to provide a raise for OFR failed four to three. Swanner, Matta and Mayor Joven voted for while Steven Thompson, Detra White, Tom Sprawls and Mari Willis voted against.
Following the vote, Thompson voiced his strong disapproval of the way the matter was brought about, saying it was setting a bad precedent for an employee to go around their boss.
Willis agreed with Thompson and asked the firefighters for their patience as they dealt with city finances, but thanked them for their service.