Barrington firefighters sign three-year contract

Barrington officials have approved a new three-year contract with their firefighters union which, like other employee contracts currently in effect, grants no raises for the contract year which ends this month.

The new contract takes effect retroactively to May 1, 2009, but offers no annual wage increase from the year before, Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said.

The new contract offers a 2.5 percent increase in wages for the year beginning May 1, 2010, and a 4 percent increase for the year beginning May 1, 2011.

Lawler said all the village's unions cooperated in controlling costs by agreeing to no wage increases for contract year 2009, even if wage increases were promised by an earlier version of the contract.

This helped Barrington control costs during a fiscal year in which the village already had to resort to layoffs to balance its books, Lawler said.

Last year also saw the village's police department lose its contract to serve Inverness, which resulted in additional layoffs.

The new firefighter contract makes $53,892 the starting pay for a firefighter during the current year and raises it to $55,239 after May 1.

The highest pay for the rank of firefighter/paramedic is currently $73,196 and will be $75,026 after May 1.

Starting pay for lieutenants is currently $76,378 and will be $78,287 after May 1.

Wages and benefits for assistant chiefs and higher ranks are not included in the new contract.