Cohoes city leaders are bracing for at least a $1 million loss this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city’s firefighters are hoping to ease the burden just a bit by forgoing overtime pay for the next two years.
The restructured contract will save taxpayers about $133,000 over the next 27 months.
Firefighters will be paid on a regular wage scale and have waived all overtime pay.
As part of the new agreement, the city has also pledged to no layoffs through 2022. Last year, the department responded to more than 3,600 calls through the month of August. Call volume this year was about 3 percent higher than that.
The Firefighters Union acknowledged the financial fallout from this ongoing health emergency while negotiating this new deal. In a press release, it said the situation requires “a period of reasonable and responsible certainty and good faith effort.”