CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Tuesday city council approved a $28 million four-year contract with the Corpus Christi Professional Firefighters Association.
President of the association, Captain Johnny Stobbs, said the contract approved unanimously by city council gives a supporting wage to all fire department employees with an average nine percent pay raise in October and an average 20 percent raise over the four years of the contract that begins this fall.
"Oh it's more than satisfying," Stobbs said. "I think being able to work with City Manager Zanoni and his team, they put such an emphasis on public safety, it's a real departure from just eight years ago."
Zanoni says it's a win-win for firefighters and taxpayers.
"We both know that we want something that's fair to the firefighter but is competitive to other firefighters in the state of Texas," he said. "And at the same time both sides want to be mindful of taxpayer monies. And so both professional sides, the city and the firefighters union negotiators understand this very basic principal."
Besides a one-time $2,000 stipend, firefighters enrolled in the City's Consumer Drive Health plan will receive an additional one-time contribution of $2,000 in Fiscal Year 2025.
"I think it shows the City respects and really appreciates our firefighters and giving them the fair market value and a wage and for our firefighters here comparatively across the state. So it's a great day for me as the fire chief to be able to get this agreement signed and be able to work off the collective bargaining agreement," Fire Chief Brandon Wade said.
The contract was unanimously approved by firefighters in July.
The new agreement takes effect Oct. 1.