Firefighters agree to defer raises

A 3 percent salary increase due to firefighters July 1 will be postponed under an agreement between firefighters and directors of the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District.
The move, approved by the district board on May 13, was forced upon the district by a downturn in property tax revenues, fire Chief Mike McMurry said.
The deferral had been agreed to earlier by the firefighters’ union and the district’s chief officers to avoid the possibility of layoffs. The district will review its income quarterly to determine when the raises can be granted.
McMurry said the district had been advised by Santa Cruz County to expect tax revenues to remain unchanged, but they actually have dropped by 2.2 percent. In addition, the district may lose another 8 percent of income if the state “borrows” from local governments to close the state budget gap, he said.
The board had adopted a preliminary 2009-10 budget anticipating $6.7 million in revenue, but the figures will have to be reduced before adoption of a final budget in September, McMurry said.