The city of Albany recently passed an equity raise and a longevity incentive for employees of the Albany Fire Department.
The incentive will work towards keeping Albany firefighters in the area longer.
According to the Albany Fire Department Union, the department was seeing a large separation in pay within members of the same ranks. This lead many to leave the area for better financial opportunities.
The department is happy to say this new change should be a huge step in the right direction.
“This we hope it's gonna stop the migration of people that have a lot of time vested with the city of Albany," said Charles Howe, President of the Albany Fire Union, "Before these raises, we had people that had already performed for the city for 12 -15 years and they were leaving for other jobs because they weren't making enough to support their family.”