Firefighters Union and City Hall Almost Reach Agreement

City Hall and the union representing Santa Barbara city firefighters almost reached an agreement on a package of concessions the union valued at roughly $1 million. The union had agreed not to take the 3-percent pay increase scheduled to go into effect July 20, as well an actual pay reduction. In exchange, City Hall negotiators initially agreed to maintain certain service levels. This would have precluded City Hall from closing down Fire Station Number 3, for example, as had been threatened earlier this year. But at the last minute, city negotiators reportedly announced that the city’s charter prohibited them from entering into such a deal.