RACINE - Eight of the city's unions have agreed to a pay freeze for 2010, and minimal increases for this year.

The contracts also require the city to maintain current staff levels in certain departments and include new workout incentives for firefighters, according to contract summaries presented to aldermen Thursday night.

"As long as we are not losing staff ... we are not upset," said Craig Ford, who represents the city's firefighter union. The city's parks and public works union and two clerical unions made sure no staff reductions will happen and included stipulations in their contracts stating that the city must maintain current staff levels through the end of 2010.

The contracts also included changes to insurance benefits, such as increased co-pays for emergency room visits and 100 percent coverage for routine preventative care.

For the last eight months the city's 16 unions have worked without new contracts for 2009 and 2010. Now half the unions have voted and their contracts are almost at the point of completion. The contracts go to the Finance and Personnel Committee Monday and then the City Council.

With half the city contracts almost finalized, Mayor John Dickert said there is still a lot more work to be done for the city's budget.

When he came into office in May, he wanted zero percent wage increases for 2009 and 2010, he said.

Money was budgeted in the 2009 budget for a 1 percent increase, City Administrator Tom Friedel said.

But other things were not budgeted for, such as the city's increased fee to dispose of garbage and the city's decrease in shared revenue from the state, Dickert said.

"Economically, times are extraordinarily tight," Dickert said. Still he maintains, "I do not want to lay off any individuals."

Besides reaching agreements about wages, the city has preliminarily reached agreements with the firefighters union to pay $6.50 per hour for up to 100 hours for firefighters to work out while they are on duty. That would be in addition to their hourly wage.

Fire Department Chief Steve Hansen said the program will help prevent injuries and save the fire department money in terms of insurance claims. For instance, he said the average weight of people who the firefighters lift has increased over the years, which can cause back injuries. "We're seeing more patients 260 to 300 pounds on a relatively regular basis," Hansen said.

Under labor law, Hansen can encourage physical fitness, but he cannot require it because it is not currently a condition of employment, he said.

The unions that have agreed to new contracts represent city employees including: electrical workers, inspectors, clerical employees, firefighters, public works employees, parks employees and health department professionals. The unions representing the following employees have not yet agreed to new contracts: police, library workers, dispatchers, nurses and crossing guards.