Cornwall Ontario — The retroactive 7.72 per cent salary increase included in the recent arbitration award for the Cornwall Professional Firefighters Association has been absorbed in City budgets.

The award translates into increased salary and pension costs of approximately $300,000 per year for each of 2013, 2014 and 2015, and those amounts were previously forecasted and had already been included in those respective budgets.

The impact to the 2016 City Budget will be approximately $40,000.

“Fortunately, this financial impact of this award was planned for in previous budgets,” said Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy.

The award covers a term of January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2015.

“The City of Cornwall continues to have serious concerns with the arbitration process and the seeming lack of consideration of a community’s ability to pay,” said Mayor O’Shaughnessy. “It’s a matter we have raised with the Eastern Ontario Mayors Committee as well as the Ontario Minister of Labour, and it’s one we will continue to bring forward in the months ahead.”