By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Mayor Vince Lago used his monthly letter to Coral Gables residents to disclose detailed figures on firefighter compensation, pension funding, and the city’s fiscal position, pairing those details with an update on last month’s opening of Firehouse 4 on Sunset Drive.

The letter comes as the city prepares to negotiate a new contract with the union representing its 145 firefighters.

Compensation and retirement figures

Lago wrote that the average gross pay for the city’s firefighters in 2025 was approximately $117,000. All Coral Gables firefighters are certified paramedics. The department maintains a vacancy rate under 1 percent, and Lago noted that postings routinely attract more than 100 applications within the first day, with postings capped at 250 applicants.

On retirement, Lago detailed the city’s deferred retirement option program — known as DROP — noting that firefighters who retired in the past five years received lump-sum payments averaging more than $750,000, in addition to annual pension payments averaging approximately $75,000. Additional state funds, referred to in the letter as “175 money,” supplement those payments by amounts Lago described as often reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. Taken together, Lago wrote, total retirement benefits for some firefighters could range from high six figures to well over $1 million, in addition to a lifetime annual pension.

Pension funding and fiscal outlook

Lago highlighted the city’s pension funding trajectory. In 2013, the firefighter pension was funded at 52 percent — among the lowest ratios in the state. Lago credited Resolution 2015-271, which he said he championed, with establishing an accelerated paydown policy. The city has made additional annual contributions every year since; in 2025 that supplemental payment exceeded $9 million. The pension is now funded at 74.5 percent, with full funding projected within six years at current trends.

Lago also pointed to fiscal pressures tied to ongoing discussions in Tallahassee over property tax reductions, noting that nearly 50 percent of the city’s operating revenues derive from property taxes.

“The fiscal health of the City and its pension plan is paramount to ensuring the City remains competitive and able to continue to provide the public safety services our residents expect and deserve,” he wrote.

Contract negotiations ahead

As the current labor agreement approaches expiration, Lago wrote that he is hopeful the city and the union can engage in negotiations that “respect the positions of both parties” while maintaining the city’s long-term financial stability.

The infrastructure investment

The letter also outlined approximately $118 million in cumulative fire rescue facility spending over the past decade: approximately $90 million for the Police and Fire Headquarters housing Fire Station 1 and the Minorca Garage; $11.5 million for the newly opened Firehouse 4; $15 million for a full refurbishment of Fire Station 2 on U.S. 1; and $1.5 million for renovations to Fire Station 3 on Old Cutler Road. Public safety spending currently comprises 35.6 percent of the city’s budget, its largest single expenditure.

Lago described the Firehouse 4 opening as fulfilling a vision by Coral Gables founder George Merrick, who planned the city to be served by four fire stations.

The Gazette has previously reported on the Firehouse 4 opening.