VIDEO: Four Watertown city firefighters will be reinstated to their captain positions.
The city council voted 3 to 2 Monday night to promote the former captains.
Mayor Joe Butler and Councilwoman Sarah Compo voted against it.
The four captains were part of a group of eight who were demoted in 2016 as a cost-cutting effort.
Since then four captain have returned to their positions due to retirements.
Now the remaining four will join their ranks at a cost of $13,000 for the last three months of the fiscal year.
The city has been locked in a long-running dispute with its fire department over staffing and costs.
"We are righting a wrong here," council member Cody Horbacz said. "These folks earned their rank, they earned their pay, and they had it taken away because they were, in my opinion, they were being used as pawns in a game."