It’s been more than a year since Tallahassee firefighters signed a contract, and the city will soon decide what it will be. After nearly 20 failed negotiations with the city and a last-ditch effort with a special judge, the two sides remain at an impasse. The issue also has ramifications for upcoming local elections. It’s been three years since the union filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Reece Goad, and things have only gotten worse since then.
In July 2021, the local firefighters union and its president, Joey Davis, filed a state ethics complaint against Goad, alleging that the union had requested records related to the city’s fire service fees and that Goad had blocked the request. Davis then said Goad had threatened him, thereby abusing his position.
Byron Meadows is a former Tallahassee firefighter who was in the room at the time the threat was made.
“What I recall now is that at that point Joey was asked to resign,” Meadows said. “The mayor notified him to resign or he would essentially lose his job, there would be repercussions.”
Davis’ complaint continues: “Since the threat, the Mayor has contacted me to request a meeting but has been adamant that I will not allow an attorney to be present and that no records of the meeting will be kept.”
The ethics complaint was dismissed. Goad said he was pleased and Davis said he was disappointed. Davis apologized to Goad during a committee meeting last September.
“Mayor, I have expressed my intention to work with you to resolve this situation and will go further,” Davis said. “I sincerely apologize for any part I played in contributing to the deterioration of our relationship. We need to move forward, and I am available to meet with you if you can help us get where we need to go. These men and women and their families deserve it.”
Three years after the ethics case, the city and firefighters remain at an impasse over a new contract, with a one-year contract that was supposed to start last October having expired and negotiations on a three-year contract that was supposed to start this October having been delayed.
A 2023 poll of Tallahassee firefighters found that 31% were considering leaving, had applied elsewhere or had already decided to leave. Now, 10 months later, another firefighter has resigned, leaving the Tallahassee Fire Department short by 21. Contract negotiations are ongoing.
At a recent candidates forum hosted by WFSU, the Tallahassee Democrat and the League of Women Voters, city commission candidates were asked for their perspective on the situation.
“This is a political issue because we have three city commissioners who refuse to support treating firefighters the same as other employees.”
“The negotiations failed because they were weaponized for political purposes.”
“I think the city has political issues that need political solutions.”
“This has become a political thing that will affect the outcome of the election.”
They were commissioner candidates Dot Inman Johnson and Rudy Ferguson, and incumbent commissioners Jack Porter and Curtis Richardson.
During the last election cycle, the local firefighters union supported a candidate challenging Mayor John Daly and a candidate challenging incumbent Fire Chief Diane Williams Cox.
Daley, Richardson and Williams-Cox hold a 3-2 majority on the commission, which also tends to side with the mayor, and they, along with Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter, will have the final say on the fate of at least one of the firefighter contracts.
“The city has the funds necessary to pay our firefighters a fair wage. They protect us. We need to be there for them. And it’s completely unacceptable that it has come to this point,” Porter said at the forum.
“They’re in a collective bargaining process. The City Commission is not involved in that process. It’s mandated by state law and we’re not involved until we get a recommendation back,” Richardson said.
The union supported Porter, but also Inman Johnson, who opposed Richardson.
The primary election is Aug. 20, and the commission will consider the firefighters’ contract the following day.
