Fire hall employees will be getting a pay bump. When the Sitka Assembly met last night (11-25-25) it approved the collective bargaining agreement with the local firefighters union.
Under the new contract, hourly rates at the Sitka Fire Department would increase by 5% in 2026 and go up 3% in 2027.
“The total estimated increased cost to CBS will be $288,223 over the proposed three year contract,” said Assistant Municipal Administrator Josh Branthoover. “That assumes all positions are filled and overtime continues at prior year levels.”
In addition to the hourly rate increases, under the new contract, EMTs with advanced certifications would receive additional “professional pay” beyond their hourly rate. That includes, for the first time ever Branthoover said, an 8 percent professional pay increase for paramedics. Municipal Administrator John Leach said that was appropriate to include for this contract, but moving forward there would likely be a reevaluation of the paramedic program.
“For context, our job descriptions don’t require a paramedic certification, but we have in the contract the ability to assist employees that want to go off and get higher levels of training. And I think what that has morphed into is now that they went and got the training, we would use them for that training,” Leach said. “So we still have to evaluate if paramedics are necessary, given our our location and other levels of care that are nearby, and then at what level.”
Overall, the assembly voiced support for the pay increases.
“It’s a straight, pretty much cost of living [increase]” said assembly member Thor Christianson. “You have to put your life on hold a lot when you’re working down there. So it does, it definitely does not bug me a bit.”
The assembly approved the three-year contract unanimously.
