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WILKES-BARRE — The city’s budget covers the hiring of new firefighters and promotions in the department, Mayor George Brown said Wednesday.

Brown’s comment was meant to clear up a misconception the city will have to find, at minimum, an additional $754,935 to pay for the costs associated with the raises and new hires.

“They’re all labor loaded in our budget,” Brown said.

The three new firefighters each start at $49,025 annually. The assistant chief post has a base salary of $83,616. The base pay for captains is $73,438.

However, the pay for each of the two assistant chiefs and six captains promoted Tuesday will be higher when longevity for years of service is added, Brown noted. Those figures were not available Wednesday. The 2021 general fund budget contained $241,852 in longevity pay for firefighters.

Brown has promised to properly staff the department represented by Local 104 of the International Association of Fire Fighters and to make sure it has the best equipment for the firefighters to do their jobs and protect residents and visitors to the city.

The 2021 general fund budget contained funding for a 66-member Wilkes-Barre City Fire Department, the same number as 2020. The three new hires bring the staffing level back up to 66. Excluding benefits, but including the chief and deputy chief positions and the eight firefighters in the ambulance and emergency medical services, $4,498,217 was budgeted this year in base pay for firefighters.

In comparison, base pay in 2020 totaled $4,363,764. Raises accounted for the difference of $134,453 from this year.

The department also might save in overtime costs as a result of the new hires, Brown added.

The 2021 budget contained $80,000 in overtime for firefighters, excluding those in emergency medical services. Last year $100,000 was budgeted.

The draft financial report for December 2020 showed the department came in under budget for overtime with a total of $97,837. The year-end figure was a significant reduction from the $451,131 recorded for 2019 when the department was understaffed.

Emergency overtime also was lower. The department reported $8,810 of the $20,000 budgeted. In 2019, emergency overtime totaled $22,910.

Brown’s predecessor Tony George hired 13 new firefighters in the summer of 2019 to fill the vacancies.

Brown: WB budget covers new hires and promotions in fire department