MINTO – Wellington North, Minto and Mapleton firefighters may be getting a pay raise in the near future.
Town director of fire services Chris Harrow presented a fire department wage policy to Minto council on April 8.
The report proposed a new wage policy to be implemented as of May 1, if all councils approved.
“The firefighters were scheduled to be paid $21.63 this year, but now that will be standardized between the three departments at $23 per hour,” stated Harrow in an April 10 email.
The new hourly rate is anticipated to cause a “slight” increase in the 2025 budget.
“Our wage budget is totally dependent on call volume,” he explained.
“If our calls are less for this year, we will not have a significant increase.”
While Wellington North and Minto were being paid the same way, Mapleton’s system was “significantly different,” using a points system to complete their payroll.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a wage policy come to you and be adopted,” Harrow told council.
“This is aligning the three departments into a common wage policy, which is fantastic on our books.”
After discussion with the firefighters of Mapleton, it was decided to change to the hourly system to match the other two departments, the report stated.
Some of the proposed pay includes:
- training session, $23/hour for duration;
- incident pay, $46 for first hour, $23 every hour after;
- weekend truck checks, $23/hour for direction; and
- weekend standby pay, $85 per day.
It also notes all firefighters will get four per cent or six per cent vacation pay depending on their years of services or municipal policy.
“The work you guys are doing to bring the teams together and have a joined fire department is something to be really proud of,” said deputy mayor Jean Anderson.
Minto council is officially the first to approve the wage policy, with Wellington North and Mapleton councils to receive the presentation at the end of April/beginning of May.
