Proctor still pressing City of Tallahassee to agree on contract with city firefighters

Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat
Updated ·2 min read
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor speaks to the crowd at the town hall he held with the Tallahassee Professional Firefighters.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor speaks to the crowd at the town hall he held with the Tallahassee Professional Firefighters.

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor won't take "no" for an answer as he continues to get involved with the City of Tallahassee's ongoing negotiations with its firefighters. He spoke out at a Thursday night town hall.

It was standing room only at the Bruce J. Host Northeast Branch Library as dozens gathered to listen to Proctor and Joey Davis, president of the Tallahassee Professional Fire Fighters, speak about the back and forth between the city and firefighters.

At that gathering, Proctor decided to form a citizen's ad hoc committee to draft a proposal to the city to explain why they should settle on a contract with the firefighters.

Former Tallahassee Mayor Dot Inman-Johnson also urged residents to attend the city commission meeting on Wednesday, March 27.

They have planned for a demonstration to be held at 1:30 p.m. outside of City Hall. Inman-Johnson, who was a city commissioner in 1984-94, also is running to unseat current City Commissioner Curtis Richardson.

Tallahassee firefighters are still negotiating pay raises with the city.
Tallahassee firefighters are still negotiating pay raises with the city.

At Thursday night's town hall, Davis shared what firefighters are asking for and that the inaction from the city has led to many firefighters leaving to seek employment elsewhere.

He also said the union will have a hearing with a special magistrate to be held Wednesday starting at 9 a.m. at the Public Safety Complex.

The town hall-style meeting was organized by Proctor after he sent a letter saying he would offer to be a mediator between the city and the firefighters, which was met with Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey declining and instead suggesting that the county form its own fire service. The city now provides firefighting for the entire county.

Looking ahead

  • The Tallahassee City Commission will next meet Wednesday, March 27 at 3 p.m. at City Hall.

  • The firefighters plan to livestream their hearing with the magistrate at 9 a.m. at the Public Safety Complex but the website for that is still being decided.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Commissioner Bill Proctor continues fighting for city firefighters