Pay & Benefits
Austin-Travis County EMS offers a competitive salary structure for our medics throughout the lifetime of their career. Our medics are currently some of the highest paid in the state of Texas. We are a 3rd service provider in the City of Austin, so EMS is offered a variety of City employee benefits as outlined on this page. Read through our list of benefits and see what makes us one of the top EMS agencies in the country.
Salary
Medic wages are set by the Meet and Confer Agreement between the Austin-Travis County EMS Employees Association and The City of Austin. Currently, our new agreement becomes effective on October 1, 2024, and is a four-year contract.
Cadet and Direct Hire Pay
All newly hired Cadet-Field and Cadet-Communications employees will be paid $22.88 an hour based on a 42 hour work week during the 10- week Academy.
Direct Hire Clinical Specialist - Field & Communications employees will be paid immediately upon hire at the base pay step $31.23 an hour based on a 42 hour work week. If a Paramedic candidate has verified experience of 2 or more years of full-time work experience in a 911 EMS system, they will be eligible to be paid at the 2 year pay step $32.48 an hour based on a 42 hour work week.
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- Upon graduation from the Academy, cadets will transition to a Medic-Field or Medic-Communications pay schedule based on a 42 hour work week. All newly graduated Medics will start at a base pay rate of $25.21 per hour.
- Direct Hire Clinical Specialist - Field & Communications cadets will graduate and will resume the Clinical Specialist title and pay that was offered at hire: base pay or pay with experience.
In addition to base salary, Austin-Travis County EMS offers several forms of incentive pay to qualifying medics. These pay incentives are stackable (medics may qualify for more than one pay incentive at a time). Below is a list of our most common pay incentives:
- Bilingual Translation Pay $150/month
- Education Incentive Pay
- Bachelor's degree $220/month
- Master's degree $300/month
- Special Operations Qualified Pay $175/month
- Qualified Aeromedical Communications Specialist Pay $175/month
Field and Communications Shift Schedules
Benefits Overview
Health, dental and retirement benefits will begin on the first day of the EMS Cadet Academy. Austin-Travis County EMS employees are eligible to enroll in the following benefits:
- Medical
- Vision
- Dental
- Life insurance
- Short term disability
- Long term disability
- FLEXTRA Health Care
- FLEXTRA Dependent Care
- Group Legal Plan
- Wellness Program
- Employee Assistance Program
- Childcare Programs
- Commuter Program
- Retirement (mandatory)
- Tuition Reimbursement: Up to $3,000 per year
- Deferred Compensation
Additionally, the following four types of coverage are offered at no cost to the employee:
- CDHP with HSA (employee only)
- Dental (employee only)
- Basic life insurance
- Short term disability
Medical Benefits
A Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) with Health Savings Account (HSA) is offered at no cost for employee only coverage. PPO and HMO medical plans are also offered, with contributions made by the employee per pay period (every two weeks) as follows:
| Coverage type | CDHP with HSA | PPO | HMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee only | $0.00 | $5.00 | $10.00 |
| Employee & spouse/domestic partner | $91.78 | $191.12 | $196.12 |
| Employee & children | $45.52 | $140.80 | $145.80 |
| Employee & family or domestic partner & children | $211.08 | $320.87 | $325.87 |
Other benefits:
- Vacation Leave: 7.50 hours accrued per pay period (24 pay periods)
- Sick Leave: 7.16 hours accrued per pay period (24 pay periods)
- Exceptional (City observed Holiday) Leave: 8.4 hours accrued
- Personal Holiday: 16 hours annually
- Military Leave: 15 days annually (126 hours)
- Emergency Leave: 3 days (12 hours per day) for immediate family
- Paid Parental Leave
- Uniforms and associated equipment provided, including ballistic gear and bunker gear
For a complete list of benefits, please visit the City of Austin Human Resources Department website.