Subject:
Title
Ratify, Re: Labor Agreements between Brevard County and International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 2969 Rank and File and Supervisory Units
End
Fiscal Impact:
Projected fiscal impact resulting from changes to Article 13 - Wages would add the following costs to current Fire Rescue payroll for budgeted unit member positions:
FY24-25: $ 8,793,931.57
FY25-26 $ 8,754,585.18
FY26-27 $ 5,137,148.27
Total: $22,685,665.02
These projected fiscal impacts include the cost of retroactive pay for Year1 and the transport incentive.
Dept/Office:
Office of Human Resources
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners ratify the tentatively agreed upon modifications to the various articles in the IAFF collective bargaining agreements presented herewith and authorize the County Manager to execute the 3-year labor agreements as provided for by 447.309, Florida Statutes.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The County and Brevard County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 2969 (“Union”) began negotiations for both the Rank and File and Supervisory contracts on January 12, 2024. After twenty sessions and an impasse proceeding, the negotiating teams were able to successfully reach a tentative agreement (“TA”) for the Rank and File Collective Bargaining Agreement and Supervisory Unit Collective Bargaining Agreement. Union leadership submitted these Agreements for ratification by the Union membership. The Union vote concluded on July 15, 2025 and the results were overwhelmingly positive. For the Rank and File Unit, 358 voted Yes and 4 voted No. For the Supervisory Unit, 12 voted Yes and 1 voted No.
The mutual goal of the negotiations was to find a way to improve wages and working conditions for bargaining unit personnel working for Brevard County Fire Rescue. The challenge in reaching this goal was finding a way to increase wages to competitive levels within the County’s unique budget limitations.
A brief summary of the Fire Assessment over the past 17 years provides important history leading to the new Agreements. In 2008, the Board made a conscious decision to draw down Brevard County Fire Rescue (BCFR) reserve funds by reducing the recommended Fire Assessment rate by 15%. The Fire Assessment rates were to be re-addressed in the FY2012 budget, however due to the economic recession, the original time frame to spend reserves was extended through deferment of capital and CIP projects. As a result, BCFR’s reserve fund went from a high of $14M in FY2009 to less than $2M in FY2018.
In 2018, the Board approved a 6% Fire Assessment increase in year one followed by annual adjustments equal to the increase in CPI or 3% (whichever was less) until 15% was reached. The Fire Assessment was adjusted to maintain appropriate reserve funds and to fund operating expenses and capital replacement programs. This was the first increase to the Fire Assessment since its inception in 2006.
In 2020, the Board approved $11.1M in non-recurring CARES funding, which was allocated to fund Emergency Medical Services (EMS) transport costs including new and replacement equipment.
In 2021, the Board approved a Fire Assessment increase generating $7.27M annually. Additionally, the Board allocated $8.4M ($1.2M annually) in non-recurring ARPA funds to augment fire requirements over a seven-year period. The combination of these actions generated $8.47M annually to the department, or the equivalent of a 33% increase to the Fire Assessment (29% Fire Assessment and 4% ARPA).
In May, 2025, the Board approved a Fire Assessment increase generating an additional 14.2M annually in order to provide for substantial increases in wages and allow for continued support of BCFR capital and infrastructure projects. In addition, the proposed budget provides the complimentary general fund allocations to ensure compliance with the existing cost sharing formula (55% fire operations and 45% EMS).
Since 2018, the County has taken numerous significant steps to increase revenue to support BCFR and allow the department to address capital, infrastructure, and wages.
Due to the proactive action of the Board in May, 2025, additional funding became available and the County was able to augment the prior offers made throughout negotiations in a fiscally responsible manner. As a result, the parties tentatively agreed to a 3-year contract with substantial wage increases in each year. Below is a summary of the average increases by unit member positions:
These increases allow for both competitive starting pay for entry level positions and strengthens top out pay for long-term BCFR employees.
The County offered to begin a new Transport Incentive for unit members who are permanently assigned to stand-alone rescue units. This will be implemented as early as the first full pay period of October, 2025.
In addition to the changes in the respective wage articles described above, other important updates to the contracts were agreed upon. A full summary is attached; however, some notable items include:
• In Article 40, “Pay Seniority” is established. This allows for experienced individuals to be hired at a comparable step (up to step 5) rather than requiring applicants with qualified experience to be hired at step 0. This is expected to help recruitment of skilled professionals.
• In Article 50, testing for nicotine is being removed from the random drug testing program. In conjunction with this change, Article 68 (Rank and File) and Article 65 (Supervisory) were updated to allow the Department to require nicotine testing at annual physicals and/or to determine eligibility for benefits under the Firefighter Cancer Bill (§112.1816, Florida Statutes), the Heart and Lung Bill (112.18, Florida Statutes) or as otherwise required under Florida Law. This does not change the requirement set forth in Florida law that firefighters must be tobacco free to at least 1 year prior to being hired.
• In Article 65 (Rank and File) and 63 (Supervisory), language was added to establish a specific anti-hazing policy. This reflects a commitment to promoting a safe and healthy environment and cultivating a culture that fosters respect for the dignity and rights of staff.
• In Article 70 (Rank and File) and 67 (Supervisory) retroactive pay going back to October 1, 2024 is established for unit members who are employed with the Department at the time the agreements are approved.
Staff in Human Resources, IT and County Finance will collaborate and implement the new wages, retroactive pay and the Transport Incentive as quickly as possible. Initially, the step and wage adjustments for Year 1 will be updated in the system so the increase in wages can begin. The second step will be to calculate and complete the retroactive pay with a goal of completing it within 60 days of the contract approval. Thereafter the Transport Incentive will be created and implemented in the beginning of Year 2 which begins on October 1, 2025.
Over the past year and a half, the negotiating teams met numerous challenges but were not distracted from the overriding goal. Due to the hard work of everyone involved and with the Board’s support, we were able to find common ground that allowed the parties to reach 3-year contracts and bring positive change. Moving forward, the County will continue to explore opportunities to drive further progress and support the mission of being a leader in the professional fire rescue community.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Please provide a copy of the Clerk’s Memo to Human Resources.