RALEIGH, N.C. — Raleigh City Council unanimously voted to give a 2% raise to all city employees Tuesday afternoon, but Raleigh police and firefighters say it’s not enough.

They protested outside City Hall, saying the cost of living has gone up in Raleigh by 8%, but veteran police and firefighters are only getting a 4% to 6% raise.

They’re asking that all employees make at least $18.19 an hour based off the new City of Raleigh living wage and the amount of hours they say firefighters work.

Rick Armstrong, Vice President of Teamsters Local 391, says there are 168 vacancies in the Raleigh Police Department, which is a historic high. He believes that will only increase if officers aren’t paid a competitive salary.

“What’s priority? Public safety should be priority,” Armstrong said. “If they have to cut spending in other areas, that should be no problem. If they have to raise taxes, that shouldn’t be a problem at all. Bottom line is, your public safety, your police and fire should be priority number one. Once they’re paid fairly and compensated, everything else can be looked at."

The city manager said the 2% raise is not currently in the budget, but they gave the raise as a way to be fair due to the elevated cost of living in Raleigh. In total, they’ll be paying out $6.4 million from Raleigh’s savings, and it will be reflected in their next paycheck. City managers hope to have a budget in place by the second meeting in May, and predict they could increase property taxes to meet these needs.

Firefighters and police officers say they’ll continue to protest for the next two months until they see a significant raise.