ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Orange County commissioners unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement Tuesday that will significantly increase pay for firefighters, paramedics and other frontline emergency personnel over the next three years.<\/p>\n
The agreement between Orange County and the Orange County Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 2057, covers fiscal years 2024-25 through 2026-27 and applies to nearly 1,500 unionized public safety employees. The deal includes firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, fire inspectors and plans examiners.<\/p>\n
County leaders said the agreement is aimed at strengthening recruitment and retention efforts within Orange County Fire Rescue as Central Florida continues to grow rapidly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement reflects our deep appreciation for the dedicated men and women who serve our community every day under demanding and often dangerous conditions,\u201d Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings said in a statement. \u201cBy making strategic investments in our emergency personnel, Orange County is strengthening public safety, enhancing workforce stability, and ensuring we continue to deliver the highest level of service to our residents and visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the new contract, starting salaries for firefighters will increase from $47,258 to $59,072. After completing the department\u2019s 10-week orientation program, firefighters will earn $62,025 \u2014 an overall increase of about 31%, according to the county.<\/p>\n
Starting pay for firefighter-paramedics will rise from $57,011 to $70,959, with salaries increasing to $73,909 after orientation, representing an approximately 30% increase.<\/p>\n
The agreement also includes annual 5% salary step increases for covered employees based on experience and professional development.<\/p>\n
In addition to the pay increases, union employees will transition from the county\u2019s current medical plan to a union-managed employee health insurance trust beginning Jan. 1, 2027. County funding will help support implementation and operation of the healthcare trust.<\/p>\n
County officials described the agreement as a balance between fiscal responsibility and the operational demands of one of the nation\u2019s fastest-growing regions. Leaders said the contract is intended to help Orange County remain competitive in attracting and retaining qualified public safety professionals.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Orange County commissioners unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement Tuesday that will significantly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[5990,1335,139,141,140,20306,87397],"class_list":["post-277362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-firefighter","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-paramedics","tag-pay-increase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}