LC Council implements pay system for police, firefighters
Published 6:18 am Friday, December 22, 2023
The Lake Charles City Council voted to implement the 2024 Pay Matrix for the Lake Charles Fire Department and the Lake Charles Police Department at this week’s meeting.
A salary pay matrix defines ranges of pay for employees based on years of service and job title, and last year the Council approved a pay matrix overhaul that will ensure that the starting salary for entry level firefighters will be over $40,000 a year by January 2025.
Two ordinances amending the fire and police department pay were approved at the meeting. The first of these was an amendment to the City Supplemental Pay from $500 a month to $600 a month for all first-year employees.
The amount was raised to meet the monthly supplemental pay amount that is provided by the state. Under state statute, fire and police civil service employees are not eligible for state supplemental pay until one year of service has been completed, according to the city.
The city chooses to fund supplemental pay for first-year employees so that they also receive the monthly amount.
The Council also approved a change to the City of Lake Charles Personnel Policy Manual that increases the total monthly amount that Fire Department employees can receive in certification pay from $100 to $200 a month.
The Lake Charles Fire Department will be purchasing new equipment and fire trucks. The city was authorized by a unanimous vote from the council to purchase 28 sets of structural firefighting bunker gear – the protective clothing that firefighters wear. The council also approved the purchase of two new fire trucks from Bulldog Fire Apparatus: a Ferrara Custom Pumper Truck and a Ferrara Custom 100’ Mid Mount Platform Truck. The two older trucks that these are replacing will be used as back-up vehicles.
The Council also authorized the city to enter into an agreement with Reed Industrial Systems, LLC to install and repair the exhaust extractor systems at Fire Stations one, two, four, seven and eight.
In preparation for the upcoming holiday weekends, the Council approved the sale of alcoholic beverages by retail permit holders and the operation of bars and cocktail lounges after 12 p.m on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
