Frankfort Fire Trustees Approve New Collective Bargaining Agreement with Firefighters Union

Article Summary: Following a closed-door session, the Frankfort Fire Protection District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement with Local 4338, which represents the district’s firefighters. The new contract’s financial impacts have already been incorporated into the district’s budget for the current fiscal year.

Local 4338 Contract Key Points:

• The Board of Trustees voted 5-0 to approve the new collective bargaining agreement.

• The approval came after a 27-minute closed session discussion during the June 10 special meeting.

• The agreement is with Local 4338, the union representing Frankfort firefighters.

• District President Nicholas Spano confirmed the new contract numbers were included in the budget figures discussed earlier in the meeting.

FRANKFORT — The Frankfort Fire Protection District Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a new contract with its firefighters. The five-member board voted to ratify the collective bargaining agreement with Local 4338 following a closed session at its special meeting on Tuesday, June 10.

The contract approval was a key item on the agenda for the special meeting, which was primarily focused on the district’s budget. After an initial public discussion on financial matters, the board voted to enter a closed session at 6:45 p.m. to discuss the collective bargaining agreement, as permitted by the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

The board reconvened in public session at 7:12 p.m. Immediately after, Trustee Justin Lohrens made a motion, seconded by Trustee Robert Boll, to approve the agreement as presented.

President Nicholas Spano called for a roll call vote, and the motion passed unanimously. Voting in favor were Spano, Boll, Lohrens, Patricia Field, and James McGeever, Jr.

Details of the contract’s terms, such as salary increases or changes to benefits, were not discussed in the open portion of the meeting. However, Spano confirmed that the financial implications of the new agreement were already accounted for in the budget projections presented earlier by the district’s accountant. This indicates that the projected $350,000 operating surplus reflects the updated costs associated with the new union contract.