A proposed contract negotiated between Baltimore and its local fire union would give unionized firefighters and medics a 5 percent raise over the next three years, according to a top union official.

The union’s members are set to vote on the proposal next week, said Rick Hoffman, president of the local International Association of Firefighters union. He said he expects they will ratify it during voting April 20 and 21.

It provides a 1 percent raise for union members this coming fiscal year, and a 2 percent raise in each of the following two years, Hoffman said. Firefighters generally earn between $40,000 and $80,000, Hoffman said.

Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh, said the fire union contract “is still in the process of negotiation and it would be inappropriate for the mayor to comment on terms until the process is complete.”

The Fire Department did not respond Friday for a request for comment.

City employees in other agencies are set to receive a 2 percent raise under Pugh’s proposed fiscal 2018 budget, which would cost the city about $20 million.

The budget has not yet been approved by the City Council.

The proposed fire contract comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of the city’s budget, and the relatively large amount spent on public safety. However, much of that discussion — led by education advocates trying to mitigate the impact of a projected city schools shortfall — has focused on the Police Department. Pugh said she included $5.5 million in cuts to the Police Department in her budget proposal, and the City Council has said it is looking for $10 million more. Neither has discussed cuts to the Fire Department.

Pugh’s preliminary budget for next year allocates $497 million for the Police Department and $267 million for the Fire Department.

Hoffman said he is pleased with the proposed contract. He said the union did not have to offer any major concessions to secure the raises. His one qualm, he said, is that the contract calls for a committee to review the need for medics to receive protective vests, and then work to seek grants to pay for them if needed. Hoffman believes the vests, which he estimates would cost the city about $100,000, are needed immediately, he said.

“I can’t ignore the fact that sometimes our people wind up in situations where I think they could be better protected,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said he has been trying to get vests for the last two years, with no luck, ever since he noticed an increase in the number of attacks on medics following the unrest of 2015. The union on Wednesday distributed a video of two female medics being attacked by a naked man outside a downtown hospital.

On Thursday, Fire Chief Niles Ford sent a letter to all department staff that said the department is “in the process of developing” new “Situational Awareness Training” that “will provide our members with the knowledge and resources to handle first responder situations with the highest level of professionalism and safety in mind.”

Hoffman said he welcomes the new training, but called it “a day late and a dollar short.”

“The unrest was how long ago, and you’re just having situational training now? Really?” Hoffman said. He said city dispatchers do “a wonderful job” collecting and conveying information about scenes to first responders, but medics still have to walk into unpredictable situations and deserve protective equipment.

“I don’t give a damn how much situational training you have — I like the training — but there are times when the situations turn to [expletive] in a New York minute,” Hoffman said.

krector@baltsun.com

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