CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – During mayor and councilperson comments at the most recent Clarksville City Council meeting, Councilman Jerry Haywood spoke up in favor of a pay increase for city firefighters. However, several council members urged him to use caution while speaking on the matter and to do additional research.

As he introduced the topic, Haywood said something has been weighing heavily on his heart. He then pulled on a T-shirt that said, “Don’t burn your firefighters.”

“When I was campaigning, a lot of the people in my ward are actually firefighters,” he said. “Something that I found was we are amazingly the fifth largest city in the state but in Middle Tennessee, our firefighters are the lowest paid. To me, that is something that is unacceptable, especially because when you call 911, firefighters are the first ones to show up.

“Honestly, their pay is a joke. When they become a firefighter, and they are in the academy, they make $43,000 a year. I was extremely disappointed to see that in our proposed budget, there’s another tax increase, but there’s not a pay increase for our fire department (Clarksville Fire Rescue). I will not be voting in favor of our (proposed) budget. But I do have some amendments to see if we can get rid of our tax increase and show a firefighter pay increase,” he said.

Haywood said Clarksville may want to look at incorporating a step pay plan for firefighters, as well as other emergency personnel, similar to what’s offered in some other cities.

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Recommendations to speak with HR, fire chief

Councilperson Deanna McLaughlin recommended Haywood reach out to the city’s Human Resources Department. “I’ve requested some information that is very enlightening on this,” she said. “And I can say that I was a part of a council that did pass a very comprehensive pay study. I understand that there are discussions about a market study.”

McLaughlin said that in recent years, a market study was done for high turnover positions. “A mid-budget-year adjustment was made for that,” she said. “I think it affected civil engineers, police, fire and a few other positions. I just caution when you are looking at other jurisdictions, look at the cost for service. Twelve fire stations, 365 days a year, if you sweep that across the number of calls for last year, it’s like 4.6 calls (on) average in a 24-hour period for each fire station.”

Councilperson Stacey Streetman suggested Haywood speak with Fire Chief Freddie Montgomery. She also said when looking at other jurisdictions and municipalities, he should look at the requirements as well. “I encourage you to find out what their requirements are and to see if they actually require more than what our department does,” Streetman said.

She also clarified the City Council has not received the final budget for FY 2025-26, rather, just a draft. The draft includes a 2.5% wage increase for all city employees, including firefighters, Streetman said.

‘Everybody deserves to have a decent wage’

Councilperson Tim Chandler pointed out at that of all incorporated cities in Tennessee, Clarksville has the lowest property tax rate at $0.88. “The next closest one is Paris, Tennessee. They are (at) $0.90,” he said. “They’re fixing to adjust theirs up even higher. As soon as it came out in the paper that we were going to do a 15-cent increase, my phone started ringing off the wall. People were losing their minds.

“Believe me folks, I stand 100% behind our firefighters, as well as our police officers, our Street Department employees and Clarksville Gas & Water employees. Everybody deserves to have a decent wage,” Chandler said. “Murfreesboro doesn’t have a state retirement; you have to work until you are 62, or you decide that you want to draw your Social Security.

“And it’s a 401K mandatory contribution. We don’t charge a penny for our people to have retirements. Insurance is not covered once you’ve retired for the other cities we are talking about comparing to. … Plug that into the formula.”

Chandler said the City of Clarksville pays the employees they bring in around $6,000 more than the average salary of $38,000 in Clarksville.

Haywood told his fellow council members he has gone to the fire stations and spoken with the district chiefs and the battalion chiefs, and he emphasized the respect he has for Fire Chief Montgomery. But he emphasized he had heard the concerns, which is why he brought the concerns to the council.

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