Mundelein firefighters get one-year contract extension
Mundelein's firefighters will get 2.75-percent pay raises under a one-year contract extension approved Monday night, authorities said.
The deal prolongs a three-year pact adopted in 2013. It applies to 16 firefighters represented by the International Association of Firefighters Local 4786.
"Both sides thought it was a good idea to extend the contract for one year while the village evaluates opportunities to improve efficiencies in both our internal operations and with other fire departments in the fire services," Village Administrator John Lobaito said.
That search for efficiency includes talking with neighboring fire departments about sharing expensive equipment, such as ladder trucks, and services, Lobaito said.
"If we can reduce the numbers, it's good for both of us," he said.
The village is not investigating merging with another fire department or any other type of departmental consolidation, Lobaito said.
The firefighters' 2.75 percent pay raise is the same rate being awarded to Mundelein's police officers and public works employees under their union deals, Lobaito said.
The new starting salary for a firefighter will be $64,854, up from $63,118. The contract will last through April 30, 2017.
The village board approved the deal without objection. Trustee Ray Semple was absent. Trustees also adopted an estimated $54.9 million budget for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins May 1.
The budget includes several high-profile public projects. Among others, it sets aside money for:
• Utility upgrades on West Hawley Street, which will cost about $1.5 million.
• Street improvements in the Loch Lomond neighborhood, which will cost about $3.4 million.
• Traffic-signal improvements, the construction of new turn lanes and other changes to the triangular intersections of routes 60, 83 and 176, to the tune of about $4 million.