CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council met Thursday to review the 2025-26 fiscal year budget. However, an hour before the special session began, the Clarksville Fire Fighters Association (IAFF Local 3180) held a rally on Public Square outside Council Chambers to push for a pay increase for city firefighters.
Among those speaking up were firefighters, veterans, educators, as well as the daughter of a firefighter. As each of the speakers explained why change needs to occur, several community members lined up to see what was going on. Several joined the cause and received signs that read “Don’t Burn Your Fire Fighters” or “Living Wage Now.”
Jesse Snyder, the president of 3180 Clarksville Fire Fighters Association, said they are asking for an immediate base-salary increase across the firefighter ranks to bring Clarksville Fire Rescue wages closer to regional and national averages. “And to provide a living wage so our firefighters can live and serve in the city they live in,” Snyder said. “Also, we’d like to see a structured step pay plan, that way we know where they’re going to be at in the future.
“We’ve lost some young guys the past couple of years who have gone on to make more money for different departments, and some of them have gone into completely different career paths altogether, just because they couldn’t survive on what they were making. We’re just trying to bring awareness and build a relationship with the council and the mayor and make them aware of what’s going on and what we need.”
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Pay scale comparison
Firefighter Owen James broke down the difference in base salary for firefighters in Clarksville compared to what firefighters are making in surrounding communities. This included Murfreesboro, Dickson, Franklin, Goodlettsville, Brentwood, Hendersonville and Germantown.
He said the current CFR starting salary for an uncertified firefighter is $43,811, while the starting salary for a certified firefighter is $45,000. He explained that Clarksville Fire Rescue staffs 12 fire stations covering 96 square miles and responds to 20,000 calls for service each year in a population of more than 189,000.
One of the communities he compared CFR wages to was Murfreesboro, which staffs 11 fire stations covering a population of more than 165,000 people, he said. James said the salary for an uncertified firefighter in Murfreesboro is $56,883, which is a 26% difference.
The starting salary for certified firefighters in Murfreesboro is $58,305. “A 25.76% difference when compared to the starting salary for certified firefighters with CFR,” he said. He told Clarksville Now this data is from 2024.
James also pointed out that CFR has no step pay plan to mirror other public safety agencies in Tennessee.
‘We’ve found it hard to keep up’
Firefighter Makayla Flowers-Hubbard spoke on her family’s struggles as they try to make ends meet.
“I moved here from La Grange Park, Illinois to work for CFR,” Flowers-Hubbard said. “I left my friends and family to serve the community I have grown to love. My spouse and I didn’t have much, but we were excited to start our journey here in Clarksville. As rent and groceries become more expensive, we’ve found it hard to keep up. The rent in our budget wasn’t in the best of areas. In order for me to not worry about my family’s safety, we had moved to an area outside of our price range.
“I wanted my family safe, so I could focus on making everyone else’s family safe. We’ve had to resort to food pantries, and selling our items to pay bills. I’ve tried to get a second job, I’ve had countless interviews, but when my schedule for the fire department comes up, every response was, ‘We can’t work with that schedule.'”
Flowers-Hubbard said her spouse had to drop out of school and return to work because they couldn’t live off her paycheck from Clarksville Fire Rescue.
‘We wear different uniforms, but we’ve fought the same fight’
Veteran supporter Josh Gillette said he has learned that sometimes silence doesn’t mean peace.
“Sometimes it means something is wrong,” Gillette said. “And the wrong are in charge. When firefighters speak up, they’re ignored. When public officials get questions, they hide and go private. When our community heroes get left behind … it’s either you speak up or you become part of the problem.
“I served 20 years in Special Forces, carried brothers off battlefields, I’ve been carried off battlefields from being torn apart by IEDs. I know what it looks like when the brave are forgotten. I see that kind of courage, not at City Hall, but in the firefighters standing behind me. We wear different uniforms, but we’ve fought the same fight: protecting people who can’t protect themselves.”
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Snyder, Owens and Gillette conveyed their messages to the City Council at the end of their special session during the public comment period. However, they almost didn’t get the chance.
Mayor Joe Pitts briefly asked if any members of the public would like to speak and then quickly adjourned the meeting. This can be seen from the meeting’s live feed on the City of Clarksville’s YouTube page. Several people objected that they didn’t have a chance to respond. The feed resumed shortly after, and Pitts allowed the three to speak.
The City Council will continue considering the 2025-26 budget next week, with the first vote Tuesday, June 17, and the second vote Tuesday, June 24. Both special sessions will be at 4:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. The current, proposed budget includes a proposed maximum 2.5% general wage increase for city employees, which includes firefighters.
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