More than a year of arbitration has produced a new contract for Butler’s firefighters, but the city is challenging the legality of part of the ruling.

Arbitrator Michael Zobrak issued the binding decision this month on a contract for the International Association of Firefighters, Local 114, which would retroactively span from January 2012 to the end of this year.

Local 114 represents the 18 firefighters, who have been working under a deal that expired Dec. 31, 2011.

The two sides entered arbitration in February 2013.

Zobrak’s ruling awarded city firefighters a 2 percent raise retroactive for 2012 and for 2013, and a 2.5 percent raise for 2014.

While the terms of the arbitration are binding, the city will challenge an issue not addressed by the arbitrator.

City solicitor Jim Coulter said at the council meeting Tuesday night that the city will challenge the legality of the arbitrator failing to eliminate the requirement that the city maintain 18 full-time firefighters.

Coulter said the clause has been in the agreements for many years, but is illegal.

“The city is required to bargain the wages, hours and working conditions of its firefighters,” Coulter said. “The city feels the number of firefighters is managerial prerogative that affects the city’s ability to budget.”

The city asked Zobrak to review the clause, but the arbitrator made no comment on it in his ruling.

“The arbitrator did not address one of the issues we wanted,” said Councilwoman Kathy Kline.

The ruling will be appealed to Butler County Court. Coulter said the city has 30 days to make the appeal.

Kline said she does not anticipate the city laying off any firefighters should it be successful in the appeal, but said the number of firefighters may reduce over time.

“If anything, it would be through attrition,” she said, meaning firefighters who retire would not be replaced.

While the city will fight one aspect of the ruling, the rest of the arbitration is final.

“It’s binding,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson.

The arbitration letter the city received from the arbitrator was just over a page long, with most of it consisting of background information.

“It’s short and not so sweet,” Donaldson said.

In addition to the pay raises, the only other change in the ruling from the previous contract was in the classification of two positions.

The ruling combined the driver and hosemen positions into one firefighter position, a move that would increase the salary for hosemen to what drivers are paid. The city’s two hosemen will each receive about a $1,000 raise.

The raise schedule for firefighters matches those previously received by city police and nonuniformed workers following arbitration.

However, Zobrak’s ruling does not increase the health insurance contributions by firefighters, a difference to the new contracts for police and nonuniformed workers.

The city reached an agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 32, the union representing the city’s 22 police officers, in December 2012. It reached a deal with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, representing its 18 nonuniformed workers, in June 2013.

City police’s contribution to health care coverage increased from 2 percent to 7 percent of premiums with the new deal, while AFSCME workers went from 4 percent to 7 percent. Police and AFSCME workers also lost the $50 maximum monthly cap they had paid toward their health care premium.

The city firefighters will continue to pay 3 percent of their premiums under their new deal.

Police and AFSCME workers pay $29 to $93 per month for health care, depending on whether it’s an individual or family plan. Firefighters pay $12 to $40.

Base salaries for firefighters ranged from $48,764 to $54,792 under the previous deal.

Base salaries after the latest increases would range from $49,739 to $55,888 in the first year; $50,734 to $57,006 in the second year; and $52,002 to $58,431 in the third year.

Those salaries are increased with longevity pay after 5 years of employment. Longevity raises range from 1 percent to 7.75 percent, depending on the number of years employed.

The city is expected to pay about $950,000 this year to all 18 union firefighters.

Fire Chief Nick Ban is not part of the union.

Firefighters will receive a lump sum check for backpay resulting from the raises. The city has $63,500 budgeted this year for the backpay.

The city will have no time to wait for turning its attention to its next contract with its firefighters. The new deal expires at the end of the year.

“We’ll be starting negotiations very soon,” Kline said.

Councilman Richard Schontz said he was disappointed in the amount of time it took the state to reach its decision.

“I took all this time to come to this decision,” he said. “Something at the state level needs to change. It needs a clear timeline of how things work.”

Ban agreed about the lengthy process.

“It was disappointing arbitration was such a drawn- out process,” he said. “It benefited no one.”

Ban declined to comment on the potential of reducing the city’s 18 firefighters.

James Kaufman, president of Local 114, said Tuesday afternoon before the council meeting that the new contract strengthens public safety in the city.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “This will raise the public safety to the level the city deserves and needs.”

Kaufman said the arbitration time has delayed talks for the next round of contracts.

“It has put us behind the eight ball,” he said. “We’ll be right back into (negotiations).”