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Cheyenne city officials and firefighters from IAFF Local 279 reached a tentative contract Monday, ending weeks of stalled talks over pay and staffing that had put department operations under strain. The agreement raises entry-level pay and adds a medical reimbursement benefit — but it won approval only after the union accepted new limits on vacation scheduling intended to curb runaway overtime costs.
The pact blends immediate pay increases with operational guardrails designed to keep the department adequately staffed, a balance city leaders say is needed to maintain services without escalating payroll pressure.
Key elements of the tentative deal
City negotiators presented a revised offer that combined a uniform, across-the-board raise with targeted boosts for specific ranks. That proposal followed a separate 3% cost-of-living adjustment Cheyenne granted to all municipal employees in January.
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- Probationary firefighters: a total pay increase of 10.4%.
- Across-the-board raise: an additional 3% applied to base pay and most extra pays, including longevity and specialty certifications.
- Captains and battalion chiefs: further targeted increases — about 3.5% for captains and 4.75% for battalion chiefs — to ease compression between ranks.
- Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan: a new benefit approved by the city, intended to help cover certain health-related outlays for firefighters.
- Vacation and absence caps: the agreement limits daily vacation and excused absence slots to four, keeping staffing at least two positions above minimum levels to reduce emergency overtime.
Why the union insisted on a market adjustment
Union leaders accepted the package but asked that the 3% raise be labeled a market-based wage adjustment rather than a routine cost-of-living increase. They argued that framing the raise this way better targets recruitment and retention challenges, and helps address competition from neighboring departments.
City officials, facing significant overtime expenditures when crews fall below staffing minimums, made clear that new scheduling limits were nonnegotiable. In exchange for the medical reimbursement program, the union agreed to the vacation caps and to a provision that the city would not fund the medical plan while an employee is on unpaid leave.
Operational changes and concessions
Negotiators also resolved several day-to-day policy questions during the session. The agreement includes sick leave eligibility for daytime staff, a rule requiring employees to complete a full month of work before accruing leave, and emergency exceptions permitting on-duty chiefs to grant leave outside normal policy during humanitarian or critical incidents.
The union dropped a proposal to convert daytime benefit hours after city leaders noted that those employees already receive greater scheduling flexibility and up to a dozen paid municipal holidays. The union president acknowledged the point and withdrew the demand rather than prolong the talks.
What this means for residents and firefighters
For firefighters, the package aims to make local pay more competitive and to protect long-term health costs through the reimbursement plan. For the city budget, the vacation caps are meant to limit costly overtime and stabilize staffing without hiring a large number of new personnel immediately.
Still, the deal’s real-world effect will depend on final contract language and how strictly the new absence caps are enforced. If the caps successfully reduce unplanned overtime, taxpayers may see slower growth in payroll spending; if staffing gaps persist, the department could still face coverage challenges during extended illness or injury events.
Next steps
Union representatives and the deputy fire chief are set to finalize the contract text next week. The completed agreement will then be forwarded to the City Council for consideration in about two weeks.
Until the council votes and the contract is ratified, the arrangement remains tentative — but negotiators on both sides described Monday’s outcome as a workable compromise that addresses immediate staffing, pay and benefit concerns while setting rules intended to control overtime costs going forward.
