In 2020 Arkansas' minimum wage goes up 75 cents: from $9.25 an hour to $10 an hour.
For firefighters starting out in Harrison, they currently only make $9.40 an hour.
“Roughly 10 members of our department were going to fall below that minimum wage if we didn’t do something," said Harrison Fire Chief Marc Lowery.
So the fire chief with the help of the city's chief financial officer is asking city council members to change that before the new year.
“It actually takes the entire pay grid up. So all the firefighters will see an increase," said Harrison Chief Financial Officer Luke Feighert.
Firefighters' pay is a bit different than a typical city employee's.
"The fire service traditionally works roughly 800 more hours a year than a 40-hour work week person," said Lowery.
They work 24 hour shifts, then are off for 48.
"So they do have additional overtime that is mandatory. We built that into their pay, so they actually get paid about $33,000 starting out," said Feighert.