Benefiting Public Safety – News – Fairfax Connection – Connection Newspapers

Benefiting Public Safety
Council approves new pay plan for city fire, police departments.
By Lea Mae Rice
February 10, 2006

Firefighters and police officers in the City of Fairfax will benefit from a new pay plan the City Council approved at its Tuesday, Feb. 3 meeting.
The pay plan will allow the City of Fairfax public safety departments to become more competitive with those of surrounding jurisdictions, said City of Fairfax personnel director Larry Brock at the City Council work session. Right now, he said, the City of Fairfax Fire Department is losing firefighters and emergency personnel to counties and cities who have more attractive salaries and health plans.
Fairfax County is, by far, the greatest threat to recruitment and retention at the city fire and police departments, said Brock.
“There is a definite increase and growing competition in the region for firefighters,” he said. “It’s really getting out of hand.” The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department provides housing for new recruits, he said, while in Prince William County, firefighters receive a $3,000 signing bonus as well as referral and retention bonuses. The city averages only four candidates per entrance examination, said Brock. The competition from the neighboring jurisdictions, coupled with a smaller pool of applicants and the high turnover rate the city fire department has experienced since 2000, led a public safety task force to consider a better pay plan for employees.
Both the police and fire department pay plans will use the Fairfax County entry-level salary as an “anchor point” on which to build a pay structure. The new plan will add a referral bonus to encourage current employees to recruit new members, as well as “longevity step” to the pay plan that employees would be eligible for after 15 years. It will also add riding pay for employees with certification in advanced life support.
“We are struggling on the recruitment side and we run the risk of losing the very capable workforce we have,” said Owens. Many of the long-time fire department employees, hired during a period of rapid county growth in the 1970s, are reaching retirement age.(Read More)

SIGNING BONUS, RETENTION BONUS, REFERRAL BONUS!!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!

I do find it interesting that a lot of people talk of how Fairfax is soooooo great, yet they are having the same problems we are having. Hopefully we can do more to entice these FF/PM down to little old Roanoke.