A large crowd of firefighters took the podium at City Council on Tuesday, pleading for higher pay.
Mayor Kelly's budget is currently under review, and one measure focuses on a 24% salary increase for fire cadets. Right now, the starting salary is $32,524 . The increase would bump it up to $40,330.
It's an increase that firefighters say is sorely needed.
One firefighter described a life stretched thin, especially as a single parent:
"As a beginning firefighter I was making $32,000 a year with 2 children. My house payment was roughly $800 a month, I had no car payment, only insurance and gas. The only luxury I afforded my children was a Comcast subscription, so they could watch children shows. While it may seem that these expenses do not amount to much, after ever rising family health insurance premiums, taxes, and pension payments, after all that is taken out it leaves very little to stretch to your other bills."