By Alexandra Seltzer
The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Boynton Beach’s firefighters, paramedics and city employees not represented by a union will receive pay raises this year, with the City Commission’s unanimous approval given Tuesday night.
Firefighters will receive a 1.75 percent increase, as negotiated between the Boynton Beach Firefighters and Paramedics, IAFF, Local 1891 and the city. Also, the city will give $1,000 this year to the employees’ health savings accounts, and employees will be able to convert up to $1,000 worth of sick pay and vacation pay to their health savings account.
City employees not represented by unions will get a 2 percent increase.
Staff members are still negotiating with other unions -- such as police -- to determine remaining employees’ raises.
The raises approved Tuesday are accounted for in the 2016-2017 budget, which city commissioners also approved. The general fund budget -- dominated by the fire rescue and police funds -- is $79.4 million, about a 3.77 percent increase over last year. The entire budget is $177.7 million. The fire assessment fee also will remain the same at $100 per household.
To balance the budget, about $1 million was taken from the $12.4 million reserve fund.
Also approved Tuesday was the Community Redevelopment Agency’s budget of about $12 million. CRA staff will receive a 3 percent salary increase. Commissioners were hesitant to approve the raises when first presented with them at budget workshops over the summer, comparing raises for city employees, but ended up signing off on the increases.
With this year’s city budget comes some staffing additions. The city added three seasonal lifeguards at Denson Pool, at a cost of about $11,000. To bring fire station 1 at City Hall on Boynton Beach Boulevard up to full staffing, the city is adding six employees for about $420,000. Only $210,000 will be spent this year, and they will begin in April.
The budget also includes giving $300,000 to the golf course for new greens.
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(c)2016 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.)