CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council voted down a resolution to request the Human Resources Department to perform a study of how salaries for firefighters compare to similar and nearby communities. The proposal also included police officers.
Councilperson Joe Shakeenab sponsored the resolution, and he said the council had good conversation surrounding the pay-study proposal previously, and his whole point behind it was to start that conversation.
“If there is any type of pay increase for CPD and CFR in the future, what does it look like? Who knows where the city will be in five years or 10 years; none of us here can predict that. … I think it’s just a good thing to have that conversation,” Shakeenab said.
Budget comparison with Murfreesboro, Chattanooga
Thursday night, the conversation continued, and Councilperson Brain Zacharias reiterated a point he made last week: that the council has to be honest with themselves and with the public about the real cost of governing.
“To take a look at the budgets of some of these other cities that we’re trying to compare ourselves to … I don’t think anybody is talking about the elephant in the room,” Zacharias said. “Let’s be clear, I want all of our city employees to be paid as much as we can afford to pay them – and we are.
“Murfreesboro’s budget is $283 million, and they spend $1,854 per citizen. Chattanooga’s budget is $345 million, and they spend $1,905 per citizen,” Zacharias said. Then, he got to Clarksville, who has a budget of $170 million. “We spend $897 per citizen,” he said. “Until we are willing to be honest about what it costs to provide the services and the compensation that a city of this size needs, we’re never going to get ahead of this problem.”
Starting salary comparison between 2019, 2025
Councilperson Stacey Streetman said she is voting against the resolution for several reasons. “One, I don’t want us to set the precedence where we are directing our chiefs or department heads … in what they need to do,” Streetman said.
She also said the last thing anybody would want is for a pay study to be conducted at this point in time.
“The pay study would be based on what we currently have in place, not what Chief (Freddie) Montgomery is working towards trying to set up for our fire department,” she said.
Streetman said that since Montgomery was sworn in as fire chief in 2019, with certifications, starting salaries went from $35,000 to $43,000 in 2025. However, today, after six months, it then jumps up to $45,000. “You are looking at almost a 30% raise over the span of six years,” she said.
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Shakeenab said what also has to be considered in this process is the risk involved. “When I was a solider, if you and I were the same rank, we didn’t make the same amount of money, because I had a higher-risk job. So, I got an incentive pay as a Green Beret,” he said. “So, it is possible if we look at things in an unconventional way.”
‘The work is already being done’
Councilperson Deanna McLaughlin told the council the work that goes into a pay study is already being done by the Human Resources Department, as well as by Clarksville Fire Rescue and the Clarksville Police Department. And that’s without a resolution and a March deadline, she said.
“The work is already being done, and I can attest to that, because I’ve been a part of the data collection process with MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) to get the information they need,” McLaughlin said. “I can guarantee that the fire chief and the police chief know what they are up against related to side-by-side qualifications with other cities already offering more pay or benefits, etc.”
McLaughlin said with the work being done, it’s just a matter of getting everything and everyone together during the budget process.
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Shakeenab said he understands that the work is being done, but he would like to see something in writing before the budget process begins.
“If we don’t put a deadline on it, then the work would just continue to be done,” he said. “So, I think there should be a deadline and that would force us as a body to sit and really address these concerns.”
Continued discussion over internal study
Councilperson Jimmy Brown, as well as Tim Chandler, told other council members they still don’t understand why the pay study cannot be done internally.
“The work is being done already, so passing this is not going to make any difference on the work. It’s going to say, ‘We want to see that information by March,'” Brown said. “We just want that information back to us by the budget season. … We’re not asking for $40,000 to go spend on it.”
Mayor Joe Pitts said there are state and federal laws that the city has to follow in the pay plan. “So, whatever money we need to spend to ensure we’re in compliance, we’re going to do it,” Pitts said.
The City Council voted down the pay study by a vote of 6-7 with Councilpersons Zacharias, McLaughlin, Carlos Peters, Wanda Smith, Streetman, Keri Lovato and Pitts voting no.
Voting yes were Chandler, Ambar Marquis, Travis Holleman, Jerry Haywood, Brown and Shakeenab.
‘This will be an ongoing mission’
Following the meeting, Jesse Synder, President of IAFF Local 3180 Clarksville Firefighters Association, told Clarksville Now, “We are appreciative of the six council members that have listened to our concerns and voted to conduct a pay study regarding those concerns.
“We are disappointed by the outcome of the vote and feel that the non-supporting council members and the mayor are still not hearing the message. This will be an ongoing mission on our behalf to keep the pay and other issues fresh so they can be resolved at some point,” Synder said.
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