Special City Council Meeting – Collective Bargaining with Cheyenne Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 279 (March 5, 2026)

The Cheyenne City Council convened a special meeting on March 5, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. to conduct collective labor bargaining with the Cheyenne Professional Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Fighters, Local No. 279. After an executive session from 6:05 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., the public session resumed with presentations and discussion focused on firefighter wages and compensation comparisons. No votes or final decisions were reached.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Chris Thoms, President, IAFF Local 279 – Expressed appreciation for prior labor-management meetings but stated that firefighter wages remain the union’s top priority. He presented wage comparison data showing Cheyenne firefighters trail regional peers by 20–34 percent across career steps, with an average 31.5 percent gap over 20 years. He argued the city has strong fiscal capacity (general fund balance of $55.8 million, 78.9% of expenditures vs. GFOA recommended 16.67%) and urged a structured market adjustment. He stated the union is not asking to be the highest paid but not to be one-third behind.

Discussion Items

• Peer Group Disagreement – The core point of contention was which jurisdictions should serve as comparators. The union included fire departments from Colorado’s Front Range (Greeley, Loveland, Poudre Valley) as well as Rapid City (SD), Billings (MT), and Grand Junction (CO), arguing they compete for the same labor pool. Mayor Collins countered that Wyoming departments (Casper, Sheridan, Rock Springs, Laramie, Campbell County) are the most appropriate peers because they have similar municipal funding structures. He stated the city has not experienced significant recruitment or retention problems, noting that the majority of new hires stay until retirement.
• Wage Data Exchanges – The union presented a comparison showing Cheyenne firefighters 34.4% behind at maximum base wage, and engineers 38% behind market at entry. The mayor provided alternative figures using only Wyoming peers, showing Cheyenne is within a few percent at most ranks except for topped-out positions (e.g., lieutenant topped-out $91,000 vs. Campbell County captain $112,678). Both sides acknowledged some gaps but disagreed on magnitude and relevance of out-of-state peers.
• Recruitment and Retention – The union noted declining applicant pools (from 350+ 23 years ago to 20–30 now) and cited attrition in some academy classes. The mayor argued current hiring classes are strong and retention is high, attributing satisfaction to facilities and training investments. The union countered that some firefighters are actively seeking Front Range jobs absent a residency requirement.
• Path Forward – The mayor suggested the parties first agree on peer groups before discussing wage adjustments. The union was unwilling to limit the comparison to Wyoming only. No specific wage proposal was presented by the union after the mayor requested one without prior agreement on comparators. The meeting ended with no consensus on how to proceed.

Key Outcomes

• No motions or votes were taken.
• No agreement was reached on the definition of peer comparator jurisdictions.
• The union expressed willingness to discuss a phased market adjustment but stated it could not propose specific figures without alignment on peer groups.
• The meeting concluded with the mayor indicating he did not know how to move forward given the disagreement on the problem’s scope.