Joliet firefighters would not have to live within city limits under proposed contract

Joliet firefighters would be able to live as far as 50 miles away from Joliet while getting 3.25% annual pay increases for four years, according to a proposed contract.

The contract goes to the City Council for a vote on Tuesday, where it is likely to get a friendly reception since city administration appears to be pushing for the looser residency rules.

The proposed agreement is with International Association of Firefighters Local 44, the union that represents rank-and-file firefighters in the Joliet Fire Department.

The contract would eliminate the current residency requirement that firefighters live inside Joliet, a provision that could be repeated in other contracts being negotiated with city unions.

Firefighters could live anywhere within a 50-mile radius from the intersection of Jefferson Street and Essington Road in Joliet, according to a staff memo to the council on the contract.

The agreement would be retroactive to Jan. 1 and provide a 3.25% pay increase this year along with 3.25% annual increases through 2028.

The contract also provides for a 3.25% increase to a paramedic stipend that would be spread out over four years.

The Local 44 contract is the first of six to be negotiated with city unions.

At a Monday workshop meeting of the council, a large number of public works employees in AFSCME Local 440 filled the council chambers.

They showed up to send a “unity message” as the union negotiates its contract, Local 440 President Jim Anderson said in an interview with The Herald-News.

Anderson said the administration, not the union, is pushing for loosening residency requirements so city workers could live outside Joliet.

“Management has asked for the residency restriction to be lifted,” Anderson said.

But the union considers the residency requirement “a good idea,” he said.

“We think if you work for the city you should live in the city,” Anderson said.

City Manager Beth Beatty when asked after the meeting about the administration’s position on the residency requirement said she could not comment because it is a matter of labor negotiations.

While the firefighters’ contract was on the agenda, the council did not discuss the residency requirement or other contract details.

Contract details typically are hammered out with the council in closed session while negotiations are in process.

But the appearance of the contract proposal on the agenda this week is the first public disclosure of its details.

“We’ve been through several months of negotiations,” Beatty said, while indicating more contracts proposals are coming. “We are ready to go forward on finalizing our first.”