The volunteer fire department in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, will not be going off the job after all, now that its chief got the pay raise he was looking for.
The firefighters in Shutesbury threatened to quit as a show of support to Chief Walter Tibbetts. He had been pushing to get about a $10,000 raise, and when the town only offered half of that, he said he'd rather retire.
Tibbetts said his new three-year deal gives him the bump he was looking for.
On Wednesday, one day after the agreement was announced, he acknowledged there may be some ruffled feathers to deal with within town government.
"I'm hoping that it's business as normal, but time will tell," Tibbetts said. "I mean, we did just have a bit of a six-month battle and I'm hoping that everyone, and I know on my part, adult enough to say, 'OK, that's done, let's move on.' "
As for funding the raise, the Daily Hampshire Gazette cites a member of the town's finance committee, who said the money will come out of Shutesbury's tax fund, and will cause the tax rate to go up.
Tibbetts has been Shutesbury's fire chief for 24 years.
In another small, western Massachusetts town, Blandford, a four-officer police force went one step further and resigned this week. They cited poor working conditions and low pay as their reasons for quitting.
