New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin wants to increase pay for police and firefighters, but not everyone is happy.
All New Orleans Police Department officers would receive a 10-percent raise; however, only new firefighters will get the salary increase, leaving those on the force now without a raise.
Firefighters stood alongside the Police Department and the mayor for Monday morning's announcement. But it wasn't the salary news they were hoping for.
The city is only offering to increase the starting salaries of new fire recruits from $15,519 to $20,800.
The funding comes from salary savings from open positions within the two departments and the casino support agreement they have with Harrah's.
Firefighters said they are consistently left out when it comes to pay raises from the city.
There's still an issue of back-pay that has not yet been resolved with the city.
But the mayor's plan will also bring in new recruits at a higher starting salary than many fire veterans that have been on the force for three years, including many who endured Katrina and its aftermath.
While the plan was meant to stabilize the ranks and make the city more attractive for many public safety departments, the Fire Department said it may have the opposite effect.
"What are you doing for the firefighters that have already been on the force? I'm not going to get into deciding who is more important. I will tell you the pay is different for the police and fire. Firefighters get a pay increase that is dictated by state law," said Nagin.
"There is no doubt in my mind that this is preposterous. We're all for them getting raises, but why is it so different for firefighters? This is ridiculous," said the Firefighters Union President Nick Felton.
Another group that was left out was EMS.
The EMS wasn't even aware that the mayor was considering a raise.
It is having problems with retention as well, so they're also concerned they were not included.
The raises are expected to go into effect Sept. 1 after a civil service approval process.
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