KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, City Council committee is set to vote on Wednesday on a new collective bargaining agreement with KCMO Firefighters, ending months of fighting between the firefighter’s union and city leaders.
The three-year agreement will outline $7.6 million in cuts to the department, including the elimination of 33 positions – most of which through early retirements. The cuts are far less than the elimination of over 100 jobs within the department first proposed by City Manager Troy Schulte.
KCFD Chief Smokey Dyer had said that the elimination of 100 firefighter positions could put public safety in jeopardy.
The new contract also adjusts how the department calculates overtime. Under the new agreement, firefighters will begin to acrue overtime hours after 53 hours per week, instead of 49 1/2 hours under the current contract.
City officials say that the change in overtime should save the city around $3.5 million per year.
Members of Firefighters Union local 42 approved the new contract last month.
