High Point firefighters push retirement benefit in proposed city budget

High Point firefighters are pressing City Hall to add a retirement allowance to the city’s $534.2 million budget, saying the change could help the department keep experienced crews on the job and reduce strain on emergency coverage.

The proposal is part of the city’s broader FY 2026-27 budget debate, which was presented to the mayor and council on May 4 and remains balanced under North Carolina general statutes. City officials have been weighing the firefighter request alongside other priorities, including a low-income homeowners assistance program, before the City Council’s budget adoption vote set for June 15.

Robert Templeton, president of the High Point Professional Firefighters Association, said the issue goes beyond pay. He argued that firefighters face repeated exposure to cancer-causing hazards from their gear, equipment and emergency environments, and that the city should offer a special separation allowance to help cover health-care and medical costs after retirement.

Under the proposal being considered, the allowance would be calculated at 0.85% of final base pay multiplied by years of service, a formula City Budget and Performance Director Stephen Hawryluk discussed in May. Templeton said firefighters now receive 56% of their salary at retirement, but that amount does not rise over time, even as medical bills and insurance costs climb.

That gap matters most for older firefighters and those already dealing with cancer, Templeton said. He said monthly insurance costs for some retirees could run from about $1,600 to $2,000 depending on the plan, a burden that can quickly erase much of a retirement check. Supporters say the benefit could also help the city’s self-insured health plan by encouraging earlier turnover and making room for younger firefighters to move into the department.

The staffing argument carries weight in High Point, where the fire department had 216 firefighter positions in a 2025 budget cycle, while a later public-radio report said a consultant believed the city would need about 240 firefighters to meet a benchmark of two firefighters per 1,000 residents. Fire leaders say a stronger retirement package could improve recruitment and retention at a time when every vacancy can ripple through shifts, overtime and response capacity.

The proposal is not unprecedented. FOX8 reported that Gastonia and Mooresville already offer a similar firefighter separation allowance, and North Carolina law provides a comparable special separation allowance for local law enforcement officers under G.S. 143-166.42, with a formula based on 0.85% of base compensation for each year of creditable service.

For High Point, where the fire department traces its official origin to a volunteer membership organized in 1890, the current budget fight is about more than one line item. It is a test of whether the city is willing to use its budget to keep firefighters healthy, hired and on duty long enough to protect the neighborhoods that depend on them.