Metro city votes to boost firefighters’ starting pay by 35%

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell firefighters are getting a big pay raise.

The city council voted to increase starting pay across the board by an average of 35 percent.

It’s part of the department’s transition from part-time firefighters to all full-time employees.

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Mayor Kurt Wilson told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims the city is committed to providing competitive pay for firefighters, “because we want best-in-class pay to be an operating platform for our public safety folks.”

Fire officials say the pay in Roswell had been lagging about 23 percent behind other departments in North Fulton County.

But Battalion Chief Jason Dooley called the salary increase a powerful recruiting tool.

“It’s gonna have a huge impact on recruiting,” Dooley said. “It’s gonna allow us to recruit the best of the best and get the leadership in here that’s gonna attract firefighters.”

The starting salary for a firefighter is now $63,071.

The beginning salary for a captain had been $61,000, but it’s now $84,000.

The department has about 40 firefighters, with plans to hire 25 more.

Dooley said since the department announced the pay raises on social media, applications have piled up, “Not just myself, but other firefighters and officers that work here have gotten numerous texts from people inquiring about the positions.”

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Dooley said money isn’t everything, “but it helps, especially the way the economy is and inflation.”

Mayor Wilson said he wants Roswell to have one of the premiere fire departments in the region.

“Best benefits, best pay, best culture, unequivocally the best to work and stay,” Wilson said.

The raises come at a cost to the city of about $500,000 a year and go into effect on October 1.

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