VIDEO: Somerton-Cocopah firefighters are the lowest paid in Yuma County which has caused several to head to other departments.
The City of Somerton is working to fix that with raises for those first responders and other city employees.
The city is looking to give all of their employees a two-percent raise in their upcoming budget, but firefighters will see that two-percent plus fifty cents, according to City Manager Ian McGaughey.
Fire Chief Paul De Anda explained the starting wage for a firefighter is $11.50.
"The mayor, the council, the city manager, the finance director, they're all conscious of the fact that our people need to get paid more. But, as I said, you can't pull blood out of a turnip. So, our tax base isn't so that it's producing enough revenue to support all the city functions at that level.