Mundelein firefighters to receive pay raises

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:24AM

After a period of austerity measures and budget cutting, Mundelein firefighters will receive pay hikes for the first time in two years.

The Mundelein Village Board approved a 2-percent cost-of-living pay hikes for the village’s unionized firefighters/paramedics at the Jan. 23 board meeting. Firefighters will also be eligible for additional raises based upon longevity.

Village Administrator John Lobaito said the pay raises for firefighters are in line with those which were rewarded to non-unionized village employees last August and are retroactive to the start of the village’s budget year on May 1, 2011.

Lobaito said Mundelein is still negotiating the final details of a union contract with the firefighters union but felt that it was important to address the pay issue first in order to be fair to all employees.

“It’s well-deserved,” he said. “The firefighters do a tremendous job and they deserve pay raises as much as our non-represented employees.”

Lobaito said pay raises for all employees were frozen in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and the village made other budget cuts in the last three years, including staff reductions and furlough days.

Mundelein Fire Chief Tim Sashko said he thinks the pay raises show that the village board’s appreciation for the hard work of the firefighters have done in difficult economic times and the need to compensate employees as the village’s budget outlook improves.

“The board has been extremely professional in dealing with the employees. I think it just shows they do care about the employees and appreciate the hard work they do for the village,” he said.