FY2026-FY2027 MOU, United Buckeye Firefighters Assocation - Redline.pdf
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1 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY MANAGER OF THE CITY OF BUCKEYE AND THE UNITED BUCKEYE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION July 1, 2025- June 30, 2027 WHEREAS, the United Buckeye Firefighters Association is certified as the official and exclusive Employee Organization for the City's Firefighters, as defined by Ordinance #67-08 for purposes of the Meet and Confer Process; and, WHEREAS, the United Buckeye Firefighters Association submitted proposals relating to the wages, hours and working conditions of the City's firefighters by November 15, 2024, and the City Manager, submitted a response; and, WHEREAS, the City Manager or designee and representatives of the United Buckeye Firefighters Association have met and conferred at mutually agreed upon times and places for the purpose of pursuing a Memorandum of Understanding to present to the Mayor and City Council relating to the wages, hours and working conditions of the City's firefighters; and, WHEREAS, the City Manager and representatives of the United Buckeye Firefighters Association have achieved agreement on items to be included in a Memorandum of Understanding to present to the Mayor and Council for their consideration for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget year. NOW THEREFORE, this Memorandum of Understanding has been prepared by the City Manager and the United Buckeye Firefighters Association for presentation to the Mayor and Council for their consideration, with the recommendation to accept the following items to be implemented effective the first full payroll period following July 1, 2025 or as soon thereafter as they reasonably can be implemented, and enforced during two fiscal years; FY2026 and FY2027 in accordance with City of Buckeye Ordinance #67-08. WAGES, HOURS, AND WORK CONDITIONS 1. Salary Structure (Appendix A) a) In accordance with City of Buckeye Employee Policies and Guidelines, members shall be paid on a step system which includes annual 5% steps. i. Approved Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) or other market adjustments shall be applied to step 1 of firefighter pay with all other steps adjusted based upon the 5% step structure. ii. Fire recruits shall be paid at 95% of a step 1 firefighter pay. Movement to firefighter following the academy does not impact anniversary date. iii. Fire engineers shall be paid 4.1% higher than the top step firefighter pay. iv. Fire captains shall be paid 6.29% higher than the top step fire engineer pay. b) Employees at the top step shall receive a lump sum payment following their anniversary date based upon the percentage annual (non-COLA) increase provided to the general employee group. 2 c) Members, with the exception of those at the top of their pay range, may receive their scheduled step increase, when merit increases are provided to all other city employees, and after having received a successful performance evaluation. 2. For purposes of calculating overtime pay, compensatory time used and industrial related leave to attend off-duty appointments shall not be considered time worked and shall be deducted from “hours worked” in the workweek. All other leaves will be considered hours worked. The Association recognizes that compensatory time is not considered hours worked as overtime has already been paid against that bank of time. a) Sick, Vacation and Holiday Cash-outs do not count towards hours worked. 3. Salary surveys will include premium pay, if any, for Paramedics and Technical Rescue and Hazardous Materials Team members, as provided by comparable communities. The City's objective is to use the survey results to develop a fair, consistent and competitive total compensation plan that promotes retention and recruitment of quality staff, and rewards employees for their contributions to the City's success. Association representatives will be invited to participate in any City committee that deals with wages, benefits and working conditions of City fire employees. 4. Work Schedules and Hourly Wage a) All 56-hour employees will work on an assigned 48/96 work schedule and will be on a fourteen (14) day work period. The 14-day work period will match the 14-day pay period. Pay will be based on working 2,912 hours annually and the hourly rate of pay shall be calculated by dividing the employees’ annual rate of pay by 2,912 hours per year. b) All 40-hour employees will work on a 7-day work period, with a 14-day pay period. 40-hour employees’ pay will be based on working 2,080 hours annually and the hourly rate of pay shall be calculated by multiplying the firefighters hourly 56-hour rate by 2,912 hours, then dividing that total by 2,080 hours. 5. All fire employees that are assigned a 40-hour schedule will receive an hourly stipend equivalent to 4.2% of their base 40-hour rate of pay while working in that qualifying assignment. (See Appendix A) a) Fire recruits are not eligible for this stipend 6. All fire employees required to work mandatory overtime will receive overtime pay in the amount of one and one-half time (1½) times their regular rate of pay. 7. Paramedic and Specialty Assignment Pays a) All fire employees certified as paramedics shall receive their regular hourly rate 5% Pay Structure - FY2026 Position Step Increase % 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Firefighter Recruit -5.00% Firefighter 0.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% Fire Engineer 4.10% 5.00% Fire Captain 6.29% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% Fire Battalion Chief 5.22% 4.00% 4.00% 4.00% 4.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Deleted: All Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) or other market adjustments approved in the fiscal year budget for all employees may be applied to the Fire department’s pay structure as well.¶ Deleted: paramedics Deleted: personnel Deleted: Overtime for 40-hour employees will be based on hours worked over 40 in the 7-day work period. Deleted: fighters Deleted: accept a Deleted: assignment as the EMS Captain, Training Captain, or a Low Acuity Unit that requires the Firefighter to switch to a 40-hour Deleted: of $3.00 an hour Deleted: Members, with the exception of those at the top of their pay range, may receive their scheduled step increase, when merit increases are provided to all other city employees, and after having received a successful performance evaluation. All Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) or other market adjustments approved in the fiscal year budget for all employees may be applied to the Fire department’s pay structure as well.¶ Deleted: personnel Deleted: fighters 3 plus an additional premium pay equal to 10.3% of the top firefighter step on the then current Fire Pay Scale (See Appendix A). b) Specialty Assignment Pay i. Fire employees assigned to specialty assignments, as defined by the Fire Chief, shall receive specialty pay which will be equal to 3.2% of the top firefighter step on the then current Fire Pay Scale (See Appendix A). • Examples of assignments include, but are not limited to, Hazardous Materials Technician, Technical Rescue Technician. • Employees shall receive the Specialty Assignment Pay for a maximum of two (2) specialty assignments, regardless of the number of specialty units they are assigned to. ii. Employees receiving this Specialty Assignment Pay acknowledge the payment will cease upon suspension, removal or other departure from any of these teams. This payment is considered wages and all applicable payroll deductions will apply. c) All paramedic and specialty assignment pays for 56-hour employees will be converted to a 40-hour rate when employee is on a 40-hour schedule. 8. Any off-duty non-exempt fire employee who is called back to work after completing their shift and leaving the work area will receive a minimum of three (3) hours of work. Call back pay will be calculated from the time the fire employee starts working until the work is completed and they are released from duty. 9. Standby Pay – Threat Liaison Officers (TLO) and Fire Investigators a) Standby pay is a type of premium pay that is paid to Threat Liaison Officers (TLO) and Fire Investigators. Due to the nature of their work assignment, they are required to work, or be available to work, unscheduled duty related to call outs after hours or during regularly scheduled days off. This resource is for both routine and extraordinary circumstances. Procedures for the use of these resources are detailed in Buckeye Fire Department Procedures. b) The method of compensation for standby/on call assignment consists of the following: i. One (1) hour of compensation for assigned duty days. ii. Two (2) hours of compensation for assigned off duty days. 10. Shift Exchanges a) Two fire employees in the same classification, or on any promotional list for a classification, may exchange or trade shifts in accordance with Buckeye Fire Department procedures: Shift Trade. A fire employee may trade or exchange up to forty-eight (48) shifts during a fiscal year. A shift trade or exchange will not be requested or approved if such a trade or exchange creates an overtime cost to the department. b) All shift trade or exchanges shall be in conformance with the regulations set forth by the Labor/Management Committee and approved by the Fire Chief. 11. The department shall attempt to staff all engine and ladder companies in accordance Deleted: of $ 3.25 per hour. Deleted: <#>All Firefighters certified as Hazardous Materials Technician or Technical Rescue Technicians that maintain their certifications, complete the annual training requirements, and are approved by the department shall receive $1.00 per hour specialty pay. All required training for specialty certification and re- certification, as determined by the City, will be provided by, and/or compensated by, the City of Buckeye. Members required to attend training to maintain their specialties will be granted up to eight (8) hours of overtime per calendar year to attend training off-duty.¶ Firefighters assigned to a Low Acuity (LA) unit, the Training Captain and the EMS Captain assigned to a 40- hour work schedule, who are certified paramedics shall receive their regular 40-hour rate of pay plus an additional paramedic premium pay of $4.55 per hour, while serving in these 40-hour shift positions.¶ Additionally, Firefighters who are assigned to light duty based on industrial injury and assigned to 40-hour work schedule, who are certified paramedics shall receive their regular 40-hour rate of pay plus an additional paramedic premium pay of $4.55 per hour, while serving in these 40-hour shift positions.¶ Deleted: <#>fighter Deleted: <#>fighter Deleted: Policy 345: On Call Procedures for Threat Liaison Officer and Buckeye Fire Department Policy 347: On Call Procedures for Fire Investigations Formatted: Font: 12 pt, Condensed by 0.3 pt Formatted: List Paragraph, Indent: Left: 0.75", Right: 0.07", Space Before: 6 pt, Numbered + Level: 2 + Numbering Style: a, b, c, … + Start at: 1 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 1.15" + Indent at: 1.4", Tab stops: 0.74", Left Formatted: Condensed by 0.3 pt Formatted: Indent: Left: 0.4", Right: 0.07" Deleted: fighters Deleted: Policy 1085 Deleted: fighter 4 with the Intergovernmental Agreement for the Regional Metropolitan Phoenix Fire Service Automatic Aid, along with the provisions of Fire Department procedures regarding minimum staffing. At no time will over 50% of the department’s trucks be allowed to have double move-ups. 12. The Working Out of Class process will follow Fire Department Procedures regarding Minimum Staffing. 13. Bilingual Pay shall be administered according to the City of Buckeye Employee Polices and Guidelines. 14. Physical Fitness: All members who have emergency response capabilities shall participate in all elements of the departments health and wellness program including annual health assessment physical and annual validated physical agility test. These processes will be developed through the Relationship By Objective Committee and evaluated on an annual basis. 15. Response Model: The members shall accept assignments as necessary to maintain constant staffing for alternative response vehicles as implemented by the department. The assignments for alternate response units will be maintained as part of minimum staffing and maintained by the shift commanders in accordance with departmental procedures regarding Constant Staffing. BENEFITS 16. Before providing new benefit programs or changing benefit programs that are uniquely provided to the employee group, the City Manager or the City Manager’s representatives will make reasonable efforts to meet with the Association’s representatives to explain the new or changed benefit programs. 17. Leave of absence without pay may be granted to fire employees, upon written request, for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days by the City Manager at the City Manager’s sole discretion. Upon expiration of the leave of absence without pay, the fire employee shall return to work in the position held at the time leave was granted or a substantially similar position. Failure of the fire employee on leave to report promptly when the leave has expired shall be considered as a resignation. There will be no accrual of Sick Leave or Vacation Leave while on a leave of absence without pay. 18. Light Duty: The City may provide light duty work consistent with a fire employee’s skill and ability when such work will benefit the City according to the City of Buckeye Employee Polices and Guidelines. 19. Holiday Pay shall be administered according to the City of Buckeye Employee Polices and Guidelines. 20. Sick and Vacation Leave shall be administered according to the City of Buckeye Employee Polices and Guidelines. 21. Bereavement Leave for fire employees should be scheduled to assure the fire employee three (3) consecutive calendar days off of work to attend a funeral of an immediate family Deleted: Policy 206 Deleted: : M Deleted: S Deleted: more than two (2) companies have more than two (2) firefighters working out of class at a time. Only under extreme circumstances will Deleted: Policy 206 Deleted: : Deleted: Bilingual pay shall be administered according to the City of Buckeye Personnel Rules and Policies Manual, Chapter 4, Section 421-16.¶ ¶ Deleted: Policy 1065 Deleted: : Deleted: a Deleted: fighter Deleted: fighter Deleted: fighter Deleted: fighter’s Deleted: A firefighter assigned light duty work will be placed on a converted forty (40) hour weekly schedule and be paid at the converted forty (40) hour rate of pay. Deleted: fighters Deleted: fighter 5 member within the State of Arizona, and five (5) consecutive calendar days to attend a funeral of an immediate family member outside the State of Arizona. A fire employee should be paid their regular rate of pay for hours he or she was scheduled to work during an approved Bereavement Leave. a) Immediate family is defined by the City of Buckeye Employee Polices and Guidelines. 22. Certified fire employees will be eligible to participate in a Post-Employment Health Plan (PEHP) offered by the City. The minimum contribution, set forth by Nationwide Retirement Solutions, is required of all certified fire employees as defined by the PEHP document. All newly hired certified fire employees must contribute to the PEHP. 23. The City Manager shall propose a citywide deferred compensation matching contribution in the FY2026 Budget. If approved this will apply to all members of the UBFA. 24. Uniform Pay: Fire employees will receive one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) of uniform allowance per fiscal year. Uniform allowance will be used to purchase items such as duty uniforms, physical training apparel, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), class "A" uniforms; EMS pants, athletic shoes, eye protection, and other items deemed necessary by Fire Administration and the Association. Uniform allowance shall be paid out semiannually as follows: a) $500.00 in the paycheck for the first full pay period in July. b) $500.00 in the paycheck for the first full pay period in January. 25. Annual Physicals: Fire employees shall receive annual physicals that meet the current NFPA 1582 requirements. Each crew will be permitted to complete all needed bloodwork on duty. OTHER WORKING CONDITIONS 26. When release time is desired, the Association President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer, or their designee, will provide the Chief or the Chief’s designee with written notification to the Chief of the request for release time. The written request will state (i) public purpose of the release time and the consideration provided to the City in exchange for the release time requested; (ii) date(s) and time(s) requested; and (iii) identify the firefighters for whom release time is being requested. The purposes for which release time may be approved include: a) To participate in City-sanctioned committees or sponsored charitable activities; b) Other legitimate Association business approved by the Chief. c) Written notice must be submitted seven (7) days in advance except in cases of emergency. Release time may be approved if the Chief agrees the request is for a public purpose, is supported by adequate consideration to the City, and if the time can be accommodated in lieu of the operational, staffing, and training needs of the Department without additional cost to the City. d) Release time will be reasonable. Total release time taken by Association representatives will not exceed a cumulative total of five hundred sixty (560) hours Deleted: fighter Commented [DS1]: Removed as all hours count (section 1) - restating may cause confusion Deleted: Bereavement hours will be considered hours worked when considering overtime calculations. Deleted: personnel Deleted: personnel Deleted: personnel Commented [DS2]: No change in content - formatting only Deleted: Firefighters will receive one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) of uniform allowance per fiscal year. Uniform allowance shall be paid out semiannually as follows: … Deleted: and Deleted: of each year Deleted: Uniform allowance will be used to purchase items such as duty uniforms, physical training apparel, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), class "A" uniforms; EMS pants, athletic shoes, eye protection, and other items deemed necessary by Fire Administration and the Association.¶ Deleted: Firefighters Commented [DS3]: Attorneys Office has stated that this passes the public benefit test of the gifting clause - I did not include any language regarding vacation donation as the current 560 can remain 6 per fiscal year. Nothing in this paragraph will be construed to permit a violation of any City Policy, rule, regulation or guideline. 27. The Association's representatives may distribute materials on the City's premises, on the same terms as the general public, as long as the distribution does not disrupt work performance or normal business activities or otherwise violate the laws of the state of Arizona. The Association's representatives may, as private citizens, participate in open forum activities on the same terms as members of the general public. 28. Fire employees may utilize the City's email system to communicate about the Association's business as a certified Employee Organization. Such use will not disrupt work performance or normal business activities; will not interfere with the City's operations; will not compromise noticeable resource utilization or create costs for the City; and will comply with City Policies and Guidelines concerning the proper use of electronic resources. The City and the Association recognize that most email is a public record when sent or received. 29. The City will provide bulletin boards for use by the Employee Organization to communicate with its members about the Association's business as a certified Employee Organization. Employees must exercise courtesy, common sense, and decency in posting material. Items that, for example, are abusive, harassing, defamatory, unlawful, or violate City policies will not be posted. 30. The City will provide public, readily-available information requested by the Employee Organization. The information may include, but not be limited to, information concerning the Employee Group, its personnel, available benefits data, and survey results. The City may charge the Association a reasonable fee for copies. 31. Fire employees shall have the right to be or not to be represented by the Association in dealings with the City concerning formal disciplinary proceedings in reference to City employee policies and guidelines. 32. Any fire employees covered hereunder, or their representative designated in a written form signed by the firefighter shall, on request and by appointment, be permitted to examine their employee file. a) No fire employees shall have any adverse comments entered into their employee file without being informed by a supervisor. If the employee requests, he or she shall receive a copy of the adverse comment. b) Fire employees may, at their discretion, attach a statement of rebuttal to any material contained in their employee file, which may be adverse in nature. 33. The fire Assignment Bidding Process will follow Fire Department procedures regarding Assignments and Bid Process. 34. When the training, experience, and ability of fire employees is relatively equal, as determined by the Fire Chief, the Department will consider seniority, defined as length of continuous service within a classification, as a factor in making decisions concerning work assignments and schedules. Deleted: fighters Deleted: fighters Deleted: fighter Deleted: personnel Deleted: fighter Deleted: personnel Deleted: fighters Deleted: personnel Deleted: Dept. Policy 1049 Deleted: fighters 7 35. All personnel Appointments will follow Fire Department procedures regarding Assignments and Bid Process. These procedures will regulate the New Hire Probationary Period (Trial Period), the Promotional Probationary Period and the Promotional Process. a) Upon the completion of a promotional testing process for engineer or captain, an eligibility list, containing the names of candidates who qualified by the examination for promotion shall be established. b) This list will be valid from the time the list is established and shall expire two (2) years from that date. A new eligibility list must be established through a testing process in order to promote any individual to engineer or captain after the expiration of the two (2) year period. i. Before the expiration of the two (2) year list, the Fire Chief may extend the promotional list for up to six months by notifying the Association. c) In the event the next candidate on the promotional list is on a Performance Improvement Plan or has received significant discipline within the previous 12 months, the Fire Chief, at his sole discretion, may select another candidate from the list to promote. 36. Fiscal Crisis: During the term of this Memorandum of Understanding, the City Manager or the City Manager's representatives may mutually agree with the Association to meet and discuss revisions to the Memorandum of Understanding in view of budgetary constraints or unanticipated developments. 37. The City shall not be required to meet and confer concerning any other matters, covered or not covered herein, during the term of this Memorandum. This Memorandum constitutes the total and entire understanding between the Parties on matters addressed herein and no verbal statement shall supersede any of its provisions. 38. Employee Group/Management Committees a) The following committees shall be established to facilitate communication, cooperation and coordination between the Fire Department and its fire employee. These committees are meant to facilitate positive relationships by providing a forum for the free discussion of mutual concerns and problems. Issues that are not resolved under these Committees may be a topic for the next Meet and Confer process. i. Members of the following committees should be released from duty without loss of pay to participate in committee meetings or work. In these circumstances, these hours will not subtract from the bank of Release Time discussed at Section 23(b) above. ii. Fire employee who participate in meetings covered by this Article at times other than their normal work shift shall not receive compensation and said hours are not considered time worked for the purpose of computing overtime. b) Each of these committees shall meet as needed, determined through good-faith communication between the Fire Department Administration and the Association. The findings of these committees will be presented at the end of the Deleted: Dept. Policy 1049 Deleted: : Deleted: is Deleted: policy Deleted: fighters Deleted: fighters 8 Labor/Management process and be subject to the final approval of the Fire Chief. i. Administrative Committee - Will consist of up to four (4) representatives from each the Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). This committee's scope will include items such as human resource, new hire recruitment and testing, promotional testing, policies and procedures, uniforms, community risk reduction and risk management. ii. Emergency Medical Services Committee - Will consist of up to four (4) representatives from each Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). This committee's scope will include items such as ALS and BLS Refresher Training, quality assurance, emergency medical supplies, community paramedicine and emergency medical transport. iii. Training Committee - Will consist of up to four (4) representatives from each the Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). this committee's scope will include items such as fire related training and procedures, documentation, special operations and command training. iv. Operations Committee - Will consist of up to four (4) representatives from each Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). this committee's scope will include items such as deployment, assignments and bid process, communication, preparedness, special operations, threat liaison officer, swat medic, unmanned aircraft systems. v. Resource Committee – Will consists of up to four (4) representatives from each Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). this committee's scope will include items such as apparatus, facilities, and equipment. vi. Health and Wellness Committee – Will consists of up to four (4) representatives from each Fire Administration and the Association (not to exceed eight representatives in total). this committee’s scope will include items such as physical fitness, health screenings, exposure reporting, occupational safety, infection control, cancer initiatives, and mental health. Dated this day of , 2025 _________________________ David B. Roderique Matthew Thomas Interim City Manager Buckeye Firefighters Association