Palo Alto's four fire battalion chiefs are about to get an 11% pay bump as part of the city's effort to become more competitive in recruiting and retaining workers.

The City Council is scheduled to approve on Monday, Feb. 27, a new contract with the Palo Alto Fire Chiefs' Association, which represents the four high-ranking positions in the Fire Department that are not covered by the city's main fire union, International Association of Fire Fighters. Under the proposed terms, the battalion chiefs would get an immediate 10% raise to bring them up to market standards. The contract includes an additional 1% raise to align the battalion chief salaries with those of fire captains, a position that they supervise and that is covered by the IAFF, according to a report from the Human Resources Department.

Both fire unions saw their contracts expire at the end of 2022. The council approved the new contract with IAFF on Feb. 6.

The new contract with the battalion chiefs in many ways mirrors the agreement that the city struck with the larger firefighters' union. In addition to the immediate 11% raise, the four battalion chiefs would receive a 4% raise this July and another 4% raise in July 2024. The firefighters represented by the IAFF received a 12% raise followed by two 4% raises over the term of the contract.

The council also approved raises for the broader workforce on Feb. 6, when it approved a new contract with the Service Employees International Union, which represents 567 employees. That agreement also includes two 4% salary increases, one this year and another in 2024. The council also approved in December a new deal with roughly 200 employees in the "managers and professionals group" that similarly includes a pair of 4% salary increases.

Like the previously approved contracts, the proposed deal with the battalion chiefs includes a "flexible compensation" provision that grants employees $100 in additional monthly pay that they can apply to either their salary or their health benefits. Employees will become eligible for an additional $100 of "flexible compensation" in January 2024.

The immediate 11% raise would bring the annual salaries for the positions to between $230,310 and $241,155, according to the city.

The Human Resources report states that the proposed contract, much like the ones that the council had recently approved, continues to "solidify the City of Palo Alto strategy to be an employer of choice."

"Being an employer of choice improves the ability of the City to recruit and retain staff in areas of critical service delivery and priority projects for our community," the report states. "It also supports the City's ability to continue basic services that are expected and relied upon by the community."

If approved, the new contract will bring the council closer to its goal of reaching agreements with each of its labor groups, which all saw their contracts expire at the end of 2022. The two largest employee groups that have not yet received new deals are the Utilities Management and Professional Association of Palo Alto, which represents mid- and high-level utilities workers, and the Palo Alto Police Officers' Association, the city's largest police union.