Youngstown City Council has approved a three percent pay raise for its firefighters, but the City's Board of Control will have the final say.
Council members okayed the contract at Wednesday night's council meeting. This comes six months after 20 fire personnel took early retirement buyouts to save the city money and avoid layoffs. Youngstown Fire Chief John O'Neill says, "We did hire back 20 people, 20 new personnel, and there's a tremendous cost savings in that, that will be realized, not just in the first year, but throughout a ten year period; millions and millions of dollars actually."
The increase only applies to the first year of the three year deal. Negotiations will continue for the next two years of the pact.
