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Inside the Northampton Fire Station.

(Bob Stern)

NORTHAMPTON -- In a joint press conference at City Hall Wednesday, the mayor, the fire chief and officers from Firefighters Local 108 explained the details of their recent contractual agreement and urged the City Council to accept it.

The agreement covers the period from 2011-2013, when the firefighters were without a contract, as well as the next three years. Mayor David J. Narkewicz is asking the council to appropriate $316,394 to make up lost step raises during the first three years and another $170,406 for fiscal 2014.

Last month, the council rejected an arbitrator’s decision that would have allowed the union $628,000. Although it has no authority to change the ruling, the council voted it down in the wake of a $2.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override approved by voters. One councilor accused the firefighters of not being “team players,” an allegation that enraged some union members.

Narkewicz said he met with Fire Chief Brian Duggan, union president Scott Flynn and union vice president Shawn Denkiewicz on Aug. 1 to reassess the situation, then discussed the issue with the council in executive session a few days later. On Aug. 8, the mayor, chief and union officers met again for more than six hours and crafted the tentative agreement.

“It’s been a long road, and it hasn’t been an easy road,” said Flynn, who noted that the union spent some $40,000 in legal fees during the long negotiations. The city spent about $60,000.

Flynn was upset the council rejected the arbitrator’s ruling.

“Firefighters have always been team players, despite what some people have said over the years,” he said.

According to Flynn, the firefighters accepted a wage freeze in 2010 at the request of then-Mayor Mary Clare Higgins. Over the intervening years, however, the lack of step increases has created a disparity within the department. Employees such as firefighters, police officers and school teachers often start at a low salary and get step increases over the start of their careers to bring them up to a living wage.

Firefighters receive step increases for the first eight years. The proposed agreement will restore the lost step increases in the Fire Department and enable it to achieve parity with police.

City Councilors William Dwight and Marianne LaBarge attended the press conference. LaBarge did not indicate how she will vote when the matter comes up at Thursday’s council meeting, but Dwight is optimistic the measure will pass.

“It’s a good decision,” said Denkiewicz. “”I think both sides can be happy with it.”