CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Frustration among some retired Charlotte firefighters has them reaching out for help. They say the city of Charlotte owes them money and after years of fighting for it with no headway, they’re turning to WCNC Charlotte to get city leaders’ attention.
The payroll problem behind their pleas made headlines in 2019 when the city settled a lawsuit with retired firefighters who argued their vacation and sick leave payouts were calculated incorrectly. However, not all firefighters with pay problems were included in the deal.
The settlement agreement offered money to firefighters who retired between 2016 and 2019. Anyone who retired before that three-year window was out of luck.
Clay Morris retired in 2011 after serving in the Charlotte Fire Department for 28 years. Per city policy, he was given a check for his unused vacation and sick days.
"They tell you that, 'This is what you're being paid for your vacation sick time.' It's like, well, that's not right," Morris said.
Morris claims his payment was short more than $3,000.
"If that calculation is off on your sick and vacation, then your pension is going to be off as well," Tom Brewer, president of the Charlotte Firefighter Association, explained.
Brewer claimed the payout problems started in 2001 when the city switched payroll systems. Firefighters work longer hours than other city workers, and Brewer said those extra hours weren't accounted for in the new system, which affected their pension calculations.
A lawsuit filed over this issue by retired firefighter Brian Kurzel against the city led to a settlement in 2019. The city paid a group of firefighters who retired between 2016 and 2019 for their missing vacation and sick pay.
By settling, the city has not admitted any wrongdoing.
Morris and several other retired firefighters were shocked to be left out.
"Why did they get what they were promised but yet, we don't?" Morris asked.
Brewer said following the settlement, the pension formula was changed to fix the discrepancy moving forward.
"They did the formula the exact way we've been saying all this time, but they made us -- you know, they made Kurzel and other members go to court, but then they turn their backs on the brothers and sisters like Clay Morris," Brewer said.
Morris argued there is precedent for widening the scope of the settlement to include more firefighters. He pointed to the city council vote in October 2021, when the city paid city employees after discovering an error in 401K contributions dating to 2001.
Morris wants the same timeframe applied to correcting firefighters’ pensions.
"We want the same thing they got," Morris said when talking about the firefighters included in the settlement. "We're in the same boat."
The firefighters' association said it’s gotten no response from city leaders on this issue. WCNC Charlotte also tried getting a comment from the city and has not heard back yet, but will keep trying.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.