By Josh Mitchell
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Some city of Cheyenne firefighters made more money than the mayor last year.
Two city firefighters made more than $98,000 each last year, compared with the mayor’s salary of $95,000 and the $85,625 paid to the fire chief and police chief.
Including overtime, the average pay for a Cheyenne Fire and Rescue firefighter in 2011 was $70,943.
But union president Bill Hinz said the average firefighter salary was higher last year than usual.
He said this is because the fire department was down about 10 employees,
which required a lot of overtime pay.
Moreover, Hinz provided a document that states Cheyenne firefighters make less per hour compared to other cities in the West that have populations between 50,000 and 100,000.
The document, which Hinz said came from the International Association of Fire Fighters, states that the average hourly wage for the comparable departments is $29.25, compared to Cheyenne’s average of $20.71.
Likewise, the document also says that the hourly wage for Cheyenne firefighters is less than Rock Springs and Greeley, Colo.
Salaries compared to other area cities
Rapid City, S.D., Fire Chief Mike Maltaverne said the average pay of more than $70,000 for a Cheyenne firefighter sounds like a “decent wage.”
But Maltaverne would not say that Cheyenne firefighters are overpaid.
“Their job is one of extreme peril and danger every day,” Maltaverne said. “How do you put a dollar amount on what these guys do every day?”
Cheyenne firefighters make significantly more money than Rapid City firefighters, even though Cheyenne is a smaller city.
The average wage of $70,000 in Cheyenne is near mid- to upper-level management pay in Rapid City, Maltaverne said.
With overtime taken out, the average Cheyenne firefighter pay is $65,000 a year, compared to the $43,700 average salary for other city employees.
But Hinz said firefighters work more hours per year than the average 40-hours-per-week city employee.
Firefighters’ schedules require that they work a minimum of 2,920 hours a year, which is 840 more hours than the typical full-time employee, Hinz noted.
In the case of the two city firefighters who made more than $98,000 each last year, Hinz said they were making about $24 to $25 per hour, but overtime drove up their pay.
Working that many hours can take a toll, Hinz said, adding that there are many dangers and stressful situations that firefighters encounter.
Sometimes firefighters are away from their families for three days at a time, Hinz added.
Patrick Currie, who heads up the fire science program at Laramie County Community College, said he believes that Cheyenne firefighters are making a “fair wage.”
Currie said the average pay of $70,943 a year for city firefighters does not seem high to him, adding that some California firefighters make more than $90,000. However, Currie noted that the cost of living in California is higher than here.
Currie noted that firefighters work 24-hour shifts and have to be ready at all times. But he said he could not compare their wages to what other city employees make. While firefighters put their lives on the line, all city employees are important, Currie said.
Currie said the local fire department has a strong union with good collective bargaining. But he said he is “pro-city fire” because he used to work for the Cheyenne department.
By comparison, the average firefighter pay for the city of Greeley (population 92,889) was $78,820 in 2011; Rapid City (population 67,956), $53,484; and Casper (population 55,316), $69,333. All of those averages include overtime. Cheyenne has a population of 59,466.
An entry level firefighter/emergency medical technician in Rapid City makes about $36,000 a year; Casper, $46,443; Cheyenne, $45,820; and Greeley, $46,423.
Nationally, the average pay for a firefighter in 2010 was $47,730, but that figure does not include overtime.
The average firefighter pay without overtime in 2010 in the Denver-Aurora metro area was $56,450 in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Should firefighters be paid more?
The city of Cheyenne and the local fire union recently started negotiating a new contract. And the union has proposed firefighter raises (see related story).
Cheyenne City Council President Patrick Collins said firefighters should not be given raises if other city employees don’t get one.
Firefighters should be treated the same as other city employees, Collins said.
And it looks as if there will not be enough money in the city budget to give other city employees a raise during the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, Collins said.
Collins said it appears as if firefighters are being paid the right amount, while other city employees may be underpaid. An employee salary survey will soon be conducted to determine if employees are being paid the right amount.
While Collins said he does not think firefighters should get special treatment, he said he admires the courage it takes to do the job.For instance, he said while people are running out of a burning building, firefighters are going in.
But Collins said the rest of the city employees are important too.
Rapid City can possibly get away with paying its firefighters less since there is not as much job competition in that area to take firefighters away, Collins said.
Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen said it is hard to say whether firefighter pay is imbalanced compared to what other city employees make. He noted that the different job duties must be considered.
Kaysen said he would assume there probably is some concern among city employees in terms of how much they are paid compared to firefighters.
Addressing pay differences is why it is critical to do the employee salary survey that could be completed this year, the mayor added.
Average salaries disputed by chief
Cheyenne Fire Chief James Martin said he does not look at firefighter pay in terms of averages.
Rather, Martin said he looks at how much different positions — such as lieutenants and engineers — are paid instead of simply adding up all the salaries and dividing by the total number of firefighters.
“I don’t just lump everything together,” Martin said, adding that he doesn’t deal with generalities.
As far as how he feels about firefighters making more, on average, than other city employees, Martin said he doesn’t look at what other city workers make.
“I deal strictly with my budget,” Martin said.
In terms of some city firefighters making more money than him last year, Martin said, “They put in a lot of hours. They were paid according to the current collective labor agreement.”
As the chief, Martin does not get overtime, and he is not part of the union.
Martin said his department, which now has 87 firefighters, including himself, is the busiest in the state, responding to 7,314 calls last year.
Martin said he is glad to have great firefighters.
“I’ve got very dedicated men and women,” he said.
Hinz said the firefighters just want to serve the public as best as they can.
“We’re civil servants,” Hinz said.
Copyright 2012 Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved