Clarksville firefighters are adding pressure on the City Council for higher pay from the city.
As the Clarksville City Council prepares to vote on the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, some city employees want more from the government.
First order of business for Mayor Joe Pitts and the Clarksville City Council was to swear-in newly elected and re-elected council members.
Before the June 12 city council meeting to review the budget, members of the Clarksville Fire Rescue rallied outside City Hall to demand high wages.
The current 2025-26 fiscal budget includes a 2.5% pay increase.
The union is pushing the city to increase the base salary, implement a structured step pay plan and begin retention and recruitment initiatives for the firefighters.
“Clarksville can afford it,” said IAFF Local 3180 President Jesse Snyder in a statement ahead of the rally. “It’s a matter of priorities, not resources.”
At the end of the June 12 meeting, Snyder addressed the council.
“We’re not asking for a lot in the whole big scheme of things,” Snyder said.
Snyder said he understands the city is crunching numbers down to the penny with the budget, but so are some of the firefighters.
“There are numbers being crunched down to the penny with our guys on their budgets, and their families are struggling,” he said. “A lot of them are having to work two or three jobs. Several are on government assistance at this time.”
The firefighters working multiple jobs is how Special Forces Veteran Joshua Gillette met and started the Clarksville Connect (Community Movement) Facebook group.
During the meeting, Gillette addressed the council.
“Don’t say you support the troops, the fallen,” Gillette said. “You don’t even support the ones suiting up right here at home. They say, ‘promote and support local,’ is that what you guys? Well, go first, City Hall, prove it to your local community heroes.”
Clarksville compared to Middle Tennessee
In the release, cities like Nashville and Murfreesboro’s pay for firefighters was compared to Clarksville’s, saying the gap makes it harder for Clarksville to keep and recruit firefighters.
“I’m here to advocate for men and women that I work with, live with, and spend a third of my life with,” James said, addressing the council. “You’d be hard pressed to find a better group of firefighters in the state that exemplify the professionalism and character that these individuals share.”
James compared numbers from Nashville, Franklin, Goodlettsville and Murfreesboro.
According to Metro Nashville’s step payment scale, a starting firefighters’ salary in the 2023-24 fiscal budget was $54,900.89. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, that number raised to $57,096.93.
In a revised plan released by the City of Murfreesboro in December 2024, the first step of a firefighter’s salary was $56,883.
Compared to those starting salaries in the region, Clarksville’s starting pay is $41,811, according to the Clarksville Fire Rescue website.
“We risk our lives to protect this city,” James said in a media release. “The City can afford to pay us fairly: it is choosing not to.”
City Council will have its first vote on the 2025-26 budget on June 17 and a second vote on June 24.
Kenya Anderson is a reporter for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be contacted at kanderson@gannett.com or on X at kenyaanderson32. Sign up for the Leaf-Chronicle to support local journalism at www.theleafchronicle.com.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville firefighters rally for higher pay ahead of budget vote