During its Sept. 26 meeting, the Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6 Board of Commissioners approved a 5.2 percent pay raise for its firefighters for each of the next three years as part of a collective bargaining agreement. If approved by Local 4117, the firefighters' union, the new salary rate will begin Oct. 6.

The 3-2 vote followed about three months of negotiations between Local 4117 and board officials, said Lake Travis Fire Rescue Lt. Adam Lear.

Lear, a member of the collective bargaining team, said the firefighters had not received base salary increases for the past three years and the new pay scale enabled the district to catch up to rates competitive with ESDs and cities in the Central Texas area. He said the five-station district has continued to grow during this time.

"This was a middle ground," said Lear, who had originally requested a higher pay rate for the firefighters union.

Lear said a first-year firefighter in ESD No. 6 currently earns $41,000 and the new rate will raise that to $44,134 this year, $46,432 in 2014 and $48,850 in 2015. In comparison, a third-year firefighter in the Austin Fire Department earns about $63,000, he said.

However, the spread between the three ranks of firefighters will decrease from 12 percent to 10 percent as a concession for the pay rate hike, he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, ESD No. 6 firefighters will continue to receive a 2.5 percent step increase annually, Lear said.

Commissioners Steve Albert and Nell Penridge voted against the collective bargaining agreement.

Albert read a prepared statement at the meeting urging his fellow commissioners to reject the agreement and hire an outside wage consultant to customize a solution to fit the ESD's goals.

"There is no precedent for a 5.2 percent pay raise," Albert said. "The city of Austin firefighters are the best paid [firefighters] in the state but continue to have hiring issues."

Penridge said the agreement will increase ESD's budget by 16.5 percent.

"I'd be hard-pressed to defend that [pay raise] to my neighbors and this community," she said. "I'd hoped to have found common ground to enhance the package without exceeding our budget."

Commission President Barker F. Keith II said that the collective bargaining agreement, as approved, would still be within the district's 10-year strategic plan.

"I have a commitment to help retain our firefighters and pay them what they are worth," Keith said. "It's an investment in the firefighters who put their life on the line for us every day."