BIDDEFORD — Firefighters now have a new contract following approval by the Biddeford City Council on June 15.

The agreement between the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1307, covers two periods, including continuance of the existing contract which expired June 3, 2018 through June 30, 2020, plus a new three-year agreement retroactive to July 1, 2020 and extending to June 30, 2023.

“It was a long process, but it is done,” City Manager James Bennett told the City Council. The three-year contract is a substantial rewrite of the one that expired in 2018, he added.

“As long as it took to get to this point, (the contract) is still a really positive one,” said Councilor Michael Ready. “It shows we understand the importance of these positions, that we’re committed to training, that the chief is committed to the management partnership being developed with staff. It has taken us a while to get here but this contract really does show what the City Council and the city of Biddeford thinks about the department and their skills, and hopefully this is something we can build on.”

The contract was approved 6-2, with Councilors Jon McCurry and Stephen St. Cyr opposed, and Biddeford’s newest councilor, Ashanti Williams, who was sworn in that evening, abstaining.

In an email, Bennett said the contract extension agreement gives employees a bonus for each month they worked during the period of the contract expiration in 2018 through June 30, 2020. Someone with two years as a firefighter would earn a $95 bonus for each month worked during the two-year period, for example, while a lieutenant with eight years under their belt would earn $107.87 per month for each month they worked during the two years.

The first year of the new 3-year contract, which is retroactive to July 1, 2020, includes a completely new pay scale to adjust pay to market rates, said Bennett. The pay scale was adjusted by 2.25 percent for the second year and by 2.75 percent in year three. As well, he said the city will pay $125 to everyone who worked from February 2020 to July of this year.

A new shift, the creation of four lieutenant positions will focus on the emergency medical services portion of the department, he said. Also, an incentive for employees of up to $100 per month to help pay for any student loans up to a five-year period to attract employees is included in the new contract.

The Biddeford Fire Department responds to about 5,300 calls annually, about 78 percent of which are for emergency medical services.

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