FROM STAFF REPORTS

Statesville City Council members took no official action on Monday after being presented with a proposal to provide all Statesville Fire Department employees with a nearly $8,000 salary increase and additional benefits.

While no votes were taken, Mayor Costi Kutteh all but promised the firefighters — and all city employees — an historic pay hike during the 2023-2024 budget year.

Approving the raise for SFD personnel with three months remaining in the current budget year would have required the council to make cuts elsewhere or allocate money from the city’s fund balance.

With a large contingent of firefighters filling the council chambers, Assistant Chief Glenn Kurfees made a pitch for a $7,800 increase for all fire department employees, an increase in the city’s 401(K) contributions to all firefighters and an investment in separation pay, which would help retiring firefighters cover health insurance costs.

The entire package would have cost the city $906,731, with the salary increases accounting for $682,188 of that amount, according to Kurfees.

The proposal was drafted by a committee of SFD personnel, ranging from new hires to veteran firefighters.

According to Kurfees, the salary increases are necessary to retain existing personnel — who are leaving at a rate of 10 percent annually — and attract new firefighters.

“We’re not asking for an astronomical number,” the assistant chief said. “We’re trying to stay in line with our competitors.”

The starting pay for new firefighters in Statesville significantly lags behind nearby Mooresville, which recently boosted the starting pay to $46,149.

By comparison, the starting pay for a Statesville firefighter is $34,850. A 12-year veteran of the SFD earns $43,000 and all other personnel classified as a firefighter earn less than $39,000 annually, Kurfees said.

Mayor Kutteh and the council members who spoke expressed their support for the department and a willingness to consider the request during budget planning for fiscal year 2023-2024.

“We need to be competitive,” Councilman Frederick Foster said. “We keep losing firefighters to other cities.

“We want to pay everybody what they deserve and what they earn,” Councilman David Jones added. “And I think we will get there.”

The mayor asked SFD employees to be patient until the new budget year begins on July 1, when they will likely receive “potentially the largest raise in the history” of the city.

City officials are anticipating a windfall in property tax revenues as a result of the recent countywide property revaluation. Unless the council reduces the property tax rate, the city could see an increase of 30-plus percent in tax revenues.

Councilman C.O. “Jap” Johnson questioned the fire department’s approach to the salary request, arguing that they had not properly brought the request to City Manager Ron Smith before bringing it to the council.

“Is it right for the firemen to bypass the city manager? Do we need to get rid of him?” Johnson asked.

The city manager responded by saying he took “offense” to the department’s approach to requesting the pay raise. However, he did not argue with the importance of boosting salaries.

“It’s warranted. It’s needed,” he said. “I get it.”

Regardless of how the request was made, Councilwoman Doris Allison said the salary increases are critical. She asked the firefighters to “hang in there with us for a little while longer.”

“If everyone of you walked out right now, I don’t see Jap or anyone else up here getting on the trucks” and responding to calls, Allison said.