Firefighters get one-time payment for performance

There are no pay raises or cost of living bumps, but the three paid firefighters in the Colusa Fire Department will share a one-time performance payment.

The total will be about $4,300 — or an average of 1.5 percent of salaries — and will come out of general fund reserves, City Manager Jan McClintock said.

That is on top of the $125,757 in reserves the city announced it will use to balance the general fund this year.

"We have a concept of an agreement, but nothing has been signed or finalized," said Capt. Logan Conley, president of the Colusa Firefighters Association.

The details still to be worked out are mostly language issues, both sides confirmed, including the precise language on a uniform replacement clause.

That clause is primarily focused on replacing uniforms damaged in the line of duty, though it may extend a bit beyond that.

The firefighters already receive a uniform allowance for basic maintenance, and that is not impacted in this agreement, city officials said.

The bottom line cost was described as "insignificant" to the budget.

"We have tried to cooperative with the city. We know things are tough ... so we basically maintained the status quo," Conley said.

The City Council agreed to the tentative agreement during a closed session Tuesday night, though there was no immediate announcement.

Mayor Pat Landreth confirmed the agreement Wednesday morning, and said that was the only reportable action from the closed session.