Firefighters in the City of Greensboro are the lowest paid among their peers in metro areas of NC. Over the course of their career, firefighters in Greensboro will lose $290k in pay and $193k in retirement vs their peers.
This lack of competitve pay creates a downard spiral of diminshed recruitment and retention that is an inefficient investment of tax dollars, makes our area less competitive for economic development, and will make the citizens of Greensboro less safe on a daily basis.
Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, & Winston-Salem are the 5 largest cities in NC. These cities represent our peers in size and services, and our competition for development and talent. Our pay should match an average of the pay in our 4 peer cities, as seen below in the proposed FY22-23 Pay Plan
A Rate Neutral FY22-23 budget would enable the proposed additional 2% investment in compensation to recruit and retain a workforce able to keep the citizens of Greensboro safe. This investment would keep development growing without representing a tax increase as a percent of property value. Each additional year of inaction makes Greensboro less safe and increases the cost of fixing this compensation disparity.