BRIEF: Council settles contract with Oklahoma City firefighters

Jan. 03--Settlement of the 2016-17 contract with union firefighters means a special election the city council threatened to call for Jan. 10 is off.

The council voted in favor of an election after an arbitrator ruled in favor of the union's "last-best offer" for a new one-year contract.

The city had sought to shift dispatch duties to civilians and to change overtime rules.

The union agreed to forgo across-the-board pay raises and to accept less for health insurance than other city employees were offered.

A settlement was reached after the Fire Department started taking trucks out of service to achieve overtime savings.

The two sides agreed to continue negotiations on the best way to handle dispatch duties.

Oklahoma County's election board billed Oklahoma City $3,376.93 for printing ballots and for postage, expenses incurred before the election was canceled.

A side deal resolves for now a staffing issue that limited opportunities for firefighters to use accrued holiday and vacation leave.

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