Asheville firefighters will get matching funds from the city for their reitrement funds starting Oct. 1.

A City Council vote June 19 approved matching funds of up to 2 percent of firefightersí salaries.

The move was part of the cityís $129.9 million budget for next year, which also included money to hire an additional 18 firefighters.

The budget also included a 0.32-cent reduction in taxes and a $15.78 decrease in recycling fees. The budget passed 5-1 with Councilman Carl Mumpower dissenting.

The funding for firefightersí pensions was less than the 6 percent that had been requested by the firefightersí union. However, it does end what the union said were years of inequity with other city employees, who get matching funds.

Under the new compromise, the city will pay out $130,000 this year and $177,000 each year after that.
Police and firefighters get reduced Social Security benefits because they receive state pensions. Under state law, counties and municipalities are required to make up the difference for police by paying them a special allowance.

However, local firefighters receive no such benefit and have opted not to pay into Social Security.

The starting pay for firefighters in Asheville is less than $28,000.

The council vote was followed by a moment of silence to honor the nine firefighters killed in Charleston, S.C., last week while fighting a warehouse blaze.

In other action, council:

ï Voted 5-1 to reduce the amount of grading and density allowed for duplexes and single-family homes built on steep slopes or at elevations of 2,200 feet or higher.† Mumpower voted against the measure and Councilwoman Robin Cape was absent from the meeting.

ï Approved the purchase of bulletproof vests for the police with $20,576 in federal dollars. Mumpower cast the sole vote against the funding.

ï Unanimously reduced city reviews on cottage developments, making it easier for builders to cluster small buildings around shared green space.

ï Voted 5-1 to create standards for retaining walls, including requirements that builders employ natural or artificial stones and plants to hide the walls. Mumpower cast the dissenting vote.

ï Unanimously allowed Asheville Radio Group to build a radio tower on Patton Avenue.