Gurnee firefighters contract approved

Gurnee trustees have approved their end of a new contract for village firefighters.

Village board members late Monday voted 5-0 in favor of the one-year deal that’ll provide a 2 percent raise to members of the firefighters union. The contract is retroactive to May 1 and runs through April 30, 2012.

Firefighters ratified the contract before it went to the village board.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said after the meeting the 2 percent pay increase for the firefighters is similar to what other unionized and nonunion employees will receive over the next year. Board members met briefly behind closed doors before approving the deal.

Kovarik said the one-year contract for the firefighters makes sense for village government and the employees so they can get a sense of revenue trends. She said the village had to take into account the fragile U.S. economy this year.

“As a board, who wants to go out three years,” Kovarik said.