Boulder City approves fire captains’ 2-year contract

For those who may have seen any of the recent social media posts put out by reps of the firefighters union calling out the city about pay and benefits, they might have been surprised that one collective bargaining agreement covering fire department personnel was approved by the city council this week without any discussion at all.

But, hold up on the surprise bit. The agreement in question does not cover firefighters or in legal terms, “non-supervisory” personnel. It only covers the relatively few fire captains. Per City Manager Ned Thomas, those covered under this agreement will see a bit more than a 4% salary increase this year.

The total fiscal impact of this agreement is an increase of $227,367.35 over the two years.

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the Teamsters Local 14 Fire Captains Bargaining Unit Employees expired June 30, 2025.

The city retained the law firm of Fisher Phillips to assist with the negotiations, a common practice in Boulder City and elsewhere when it comes to labor agreements. Over the past five months, city staff and outside counsel met with representatives of the Teamsters Local 14 Fire Captains Bargaining Unit to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.

The city and union tentatively agreed to a proposal to extend the collective bargaining agreement two years with increases in the city’s contribution toward health care insurance, annual leave accruals, and wages. That agreement was approved Tuesday night.

The only thing out of the ordinary in terms of how these agreements usually proceed was that one member of the council recused himself from any discussion or a vote. Councilman Steve Walton, a retired fire chief in Henderson, has a son, Nigel, who is a captain in the Boulder City Fire Department. Under state law, this was an item that directly affected a member of his family for which reason, Walton did not participate in the discussion.

But, as stated earlier, there was no discussion.

With Walton abstaining, the final vote was 4-0.

The fiscal impact to the city’s general fund for the two-year agreement is an increase of $227,367.35 over the two years which includes both salaries and benefits.

FY26 wages increase by $81,201.04 including benefits (medical insurance contributions and increases to annual leave balances). FY27 wages increase by $146,166.31 including the same benefits.