Long Beach firefighters officially have a new contract after the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the three-year deal that will raise salaries for the roughly 400 sworn members of the department.

The contract includes three annual pay raises of 5%, 4% and 3.5% starting this fiscal year. It also increases skill pay for paramedics and more experienced firefighters, something the city hopes will help retain and attract firefighters as the department has struggled to meet staffing levels in recent years.

“It’s a very competitive market and I look forward to Long Beach recruiting the best and the brightest,” said Long Beach Firefighters Association President Rex Pritchard.

Over the course of the three-year contract, the pay increases are expected to cost the city an additional $14.4 million. The additional pay, and the anticipated new agreement with the Long Beach Police Officers Association later this year, are expected to drive up the city’s projected budget deficit to about $40 million.

The Long Beach Fire Department and Long Beach Police Department took up about $327 million (71%) of the $460 million general fund in the most recently adopted budget.

The council also approved a new three-year contract with the union representing the city’s lifeguards, but those annual increases will have a smaller effect on the budget. The new lifeguard contract will cost the city about $1 million over the next three years, but the increase will be paid out of the city’s Tidelands Fund, which is tied to oil production and is required to be spent in coastal areas.

Because the Long Beach Firefighters Association, the union representing the firefighters, already approved the contract, it will take effect this month.

City, firefighters reach deal on new contract with raises meant to attract, retain employees