Montgomery City Councilman seeks payment parity for firefighters and police officers

The Montgomery City Council gave incentive pay to police academy recruits on Feb. 17, but a city councilman says firefighters in the Montgomery Fire & Rescue Department deserve a raise as well.

City Councilman Glen Pruitt pushed for a 5% pay increase for firefighters last summer, but the raise didn’t make it into the 2026 budget.

At the meeting on Tuesday night, he reiterated that the fire department should get a raise just like the police department, which was given a 15% raise in 2024.

“Before Adam and Eve, ‘public safety’ was considered police and fire together,” he said in the work session. “One got a raise, the other got a raise.”

The recent incentive was passed because the police department is short on officers, but the fire department is also short 40 to 50 firefighters, Pruitt said. He urged the council to bring a proposal for a raise for the fire department to the public safety committee.

“If someone’s breaking into my house, I want the police department to show up. If I’m having a heart attack. I want the fire department to show up,” he said. “They are both equal in my eyes, and I hope in this council’s eyes. And I hope that we can once again make them equal to each other.”

Council President Cornelius Calhoun said that he agreed with Pruitt’s sentiments but expressed concern that mentioning the fire department while passing the police recruitment incentive would “muddy the waters.”

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Chief Financial Officer Betty Beville said the police raise was covered by positions that were budgeted but unfilled.

“We don’t have the same positions in the fire department’s budget,” she said.

Calhoun said all city employees would like a raise.

“We have all city employees that are deserving,” he said. “They do a great job for the citizens. So, (are) we going to be looking at everybody on a scale and say, ‘Hey, who’s next?’”

Pruitt responded that until the budget process is “revamped,” the city would continue to “lack in a lot of areas.” He repeated that he felt the fire department was being left out.

“I hope none of y’all have a heart attack,” Pruitt said before turning to the next item on the agenda.

The Montgomery City Council meets at 5 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of the month at City Hall on 103 North Perry Street. Recordings of meetings can be found on YouTube and Facebook.