League City Council Supports EMS Pay Raises

Beginning July 3, some League City emergency medical services and comparable staff will receive a salary rise of $3 an hour.

Current Situation

The pay rate increase for EMS staff was approved by a unanimous vote of the League City City Council on May 9. According to documentation provided by the city, the shift will cost $27,053 this fiscal year and $108,212 in subsequent years.

Under the resolution, the $3-an-hour increase applies to each of the minimum, middle, and maximum pay scale levels for all emergency medical technician positions. According to city documents, this move would accomplish three things:

• One recently promoted shift commander below the new minimum would be raised to the minimum.
• Five EMTs and seven paramedics would receive increases based on their tenure.
• The pay for two EMTs and two paramedics scheduled to start July 3 and one paramedic slot waiting to be filled would be adjusted.

How We Got Here

Council debated pay increases on April 11 but deferred voting so city officials could figure out how to change the budget so that the pay increases could be funded. It was estimated that the increases would cost $42,437 at first and $169,746 after that. The pay raise proposal was an attempt by council members to right a wrong.

For $1.26 million, 347 city employees received raises from City Council on September 27. Of that sum, about $134,000 was allocated for additional $3/hour raises for EMS and telecom workers suggested by the City Council.

However, under the pay raises approved on September 27, an EMS worker employed immediately prior to City Council’s vote would be locked into a lower rate than someone hired immediately following the vote. This means that a worker who had been with the city for a longer period of time might be making less than a recent hire. The resolution proposed on April 11 would have fixed that, council members said.

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The Statements Made

“This proposal is a more systematic adjustment in comparison to the proposed $3[-an-]hour increase for new hires presented to council on April 9, 2023, ensuring EMS experience and organization tenure is considered when adjusting pay rates,” documents from city staff said in regards to the May 9 resolution. “Also, this adjustment keeps the part-time paramedic rates at $25.82.”