The Essentials
This story was updated on Oct. 26 to correct the description of a proposed charter revision that would change how the salaries of the mayor and commissioners are set. The mayor’s salary would be set at 75% of the salary of the Volusia County Council chair. Commissioners would make 75% of the mayor’s salary.
• Nearly a third of New Smyrna Beach firefighters said to be looking for new jobs
• Commissioners reject special election to consider raises for mayor, commissioners
• Mayor cautions against generating “hysteria”
• Union contract expires Sept. 30
The Story
They came early and waited outside, some with placards, most in firefighter attire. Their children played on the floor of the City Commission’s chambers. When the time came for public comments, a succession of speakers urged the commission to approve higher pay for the city’s firefighters who double as the city’s paramedics and EMTs.
“You're the leader for all the folks in this room right here,” Andrew West, a retired NSB firefighter, told the commissioners at the Aug. 12 meeting. “Please don't make these men and women have to come back here and do this again. It's embarrassing.”
Resident Mariah Parker “strongly” urged the commissioners “to address the firefighter compensation and benefits now, before considering to vote on raises for yourselves.”
Another speaker added: “Y'all need a raise, but it is very bold, to put almost a double raise when you have families telling you they need your support.”
Firefighters fear being left behind in city budget process
What triggered this outpouring? In a word, it was the calendar. Talks between the city and the firefighters union over a new contract began in December. But in February, the city’s negotiating team decided to hold off on broaching a pay and benefits proposal until completion of a comparative pay study by the end of August for positions across the city government, including the Fire Department. With the existing contract set to expire Sept. 30, and the 2026 fiscal year set to start Oct. 1, the Local 2271 Firefighters Union snapped into action on social media to pack the Aug. 12 commission meeting.
As it happened, this particular meeting was scheduled to include consideration of a possible “special election” in November that would include a referendum question about whether the commissioners and mayor should receive a 50% raise.
“Firefighters in our department earn just $15.33 an hour. That’s barely above Florida’s current minimum wage of $13,” Brandon Carroll, a firefighter/paramedic and the representative for Local 2271, told the commissioners. Carroll noted that the minimum wage in Florida is due to go up to $14 an hour in September, and once that happens, he said, firefighter wages will shrink to 9% above Florida’s minimum wage compared to 40% above it in 2015.
Warnings of an exodus
Carroll’s comments followed an equally blunt message he delivered at the commission’s Aug. 6 budget workshop, which was quieter, with Carroll and a cadre of firefighters constituting most of the audience.
“Right now, 32% of the department has applied for other fire departments, and that includes me,” Carroll said at that time. “We're not doing this because we want to leave New Smyrna Beach. We're doing it because our pay does not reflect the level of work, responsibility and sacrifice this job demands,” he said.
The prospect of an exodus from the Fire Department grabbed the attention of the commissioners.
Commissioner Valli Perrine said she felt like “a deer in the headlights.” Commissioner Jason McGuirk said he hadn’t heard “that there's some significant problem here,” and he encouraged people to bring issues like this to his attention sooner.
Perrine noted that the millage, or property tax, rate for 2026 had already been set. She asked the city staff if there would be funds available for firefighter raises.
Yes, said Finance Director Jo-Anne Drury. “We included a placeholder for wage increases. We don't know what it will be, so we took an educated guess, and that is included in the budget.”
Deferring possible raise for themselves
Late in the Aug. 12 commission meeting, the commissioners turned to the question of the special election. At this point, the firefighters and their families had left for home or work, and were maybe watching online. If the commissioners voted yes, voters would be asked whether to elevate salaries of the mayor to 75% of the salary of the Volusia County Council chair. Commissioners would receive salaries equal to 75% of the mayor’s. The raises and a 2025 special election were recommended in the July report from an 11-person city Charter Review Committee.
“Frankly, I would be embarrassed to ask for such a large raise for the commission,” Vice Mayor Lisa Martin said. McGuirk also spoke against it: “I see no compelling reason why we need to have a special election, and I think it’s a waste of taxpayer money.”
Commissioners voted down the special election proposal 4-1, with Perrine supporting it. The raises are not dead, however. The draft referendum appears on the city’s website along with other proposed updates to the city charter that could be voted on next year.
Mayor, commissioners react
Near the close of the meeting, the mayor and commissioners expressed frustration.
“Having dealt with and negotiated with unions in the past, I don’t think I appreciate hysteria in our city. The sky is not falling. The Fire Department is running well under chief [Shawn] Vandemark,” said Mayor Fred Cleveland. “I can’t speak for him, but I resent the blindside -- coming and stirring up families and children, people that are worried about their safety.”
Perrine said she was taken aback by the accounts she saw online before the meeting. “The misinformation on social media just makes me sick. I can’t stand that. We aren’t voting for our own raise, people. We are kicking that to the ballot so you guys can determine that.”
McGuirk said the firefighters had chosen “this nuclear option of dragging the families in, dragging the little kids in and making a brouhaha presentation.” He said he’s “not sure their leadership is handling [the negotiations] the right way.”
Taking responsibility
A conciliatory tone came from City Manager Kevin Cowper, who came to the job last September from Alabama and is the one who proposed conducting the pay study. He said he understands the frustration of the firefighters. “They’re human beings. They work hard. They do great work in our community. I think that they’re feeling anxious just over the pace of the negotiations. And again, I take full responsibility for that. I want the information from the pay study so I have the ability to negotiate in good faith.”
The union contract signed in 2022 provided an average pay increase of 22%, although not everyone got that amount. Raises were distributed differently to compensate for compression, which is when the wages paid to new hires place them even with or even above more senior employees. The contract also provided a 3% increase in 2024 and 3% in 2025.
A June 4 employment opportunity posted on the city website says that a firefighter paramedic can make up to $58,261 when incentives and potential overtime and holiday pay are considered.
Email: [email protected]