The City of Milton has signed off on an 8.25% pay raise for city firefighters.
Members of the city council voted unanimously (8-0) Tuesday night to approve an agreement between the City and the Milton Professional Firefighters (I.A.F.F. Local 2944), giving firefighters the salary increase beginning in October 2025.
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“We’re very proud of our fire department,” said Mayor Heather Lindsay. “We’re glad to be able to compensate them for the wonderful job they do to protect our community.”
Fire Chief John E. Reble said the increase will help with the recruitment of firefighters.
“The job market for firefighters has become highly competitive, both locally and across the country,” Chief Reble said.
According to the Chief, the fire department is in the second year of a three-year contract, which provides for certain articles to be revisited. This year, the local union requested that wages be opened for renegotiation.
“When the union presented their request, they shared data that matched our own research and showed the need to improve pay. After a series of productive meetings, we reached an agreement that fairly compensates our firefighters and makes our department more appealing to new applicants.”
The raise will increase the base starting salary to $46,500 a year. With educational incentives and holiday pay, a first-year firefighter can earn up to $51,720, depending on qualifications.
“This increase will bring our wages in line with most of the surrounding fire departments,” said Ellis O’Steen, president of Milton’s firefighters’ union. “We really appreciate the city’s willingness to address this issue.”
The last time the Milton City Council approved an across-the-board pay increase for city firefighters was in 2019.
In February 2024, the City of Pensacola approved a new contract to increase the starting pay for new firefighters to $43,000 a year. In May, Escambia County approved a collective bargaining agreement to raise firefighter base pay to almost $41,700.
Currently, the Milton Fire Department currently has three openings.
Chief Reble is optimistic that the increased pay he’s able to offer will help to fill those positions soon.
“Each fire department is unique in their schedule, in their environment, in their pay structure, and all," said Reble. "But on a comparable basis, I think this puts us in a very strong position and I think it makes us very attractive to prospective candidates. So we’re very hopeful that we’ll see some good applications coming in.”
