Naperville, firefighters reach 2-year contract agreement

Naperville firefighters will receive 2 percent pay increases for each of the next two years under a tentative contract agreement reached Wednesday night.

Firefighters voted 130-20 to approve the pact. It will go to city council for final approval Sept. 15.

The contract will affect 190 people, including rank-and-file firefighters as well as lieutenants and captains.

"I'm very pleased with the dialogue that took place between labor and management during these tough economic times," Chief Mark Puknaitis said Friday on behalf of management. "I think the union took that into consideration and certainly from the city side we tried to keep the economic packages as manageable and as low as possible and I think we accomplished that."

In addition to the salary increases, firefighters also will get an extra day of vacation.

The two sides began negotiating in late January. The previous contract was a three-year deal that expired April 30 and gave firefighters raises of 4 percent in 2006, 3.8 percent in 2007 and 3.5 percent in 2008.

Jerry Lichter, first vice president of the Naperville Professional Firefighters Union, said firefighters are pleased with the deal.

"It shows we're working with the city ... and realize the city is facing the same kind of hard times everybody else is out there," Lichter said.

City councilmen have already given preliminary approval to the deal and are expected to ratify it when they meet Sept. 15.