Responding to county officials’ outrage over an arbitrator’s decision to award Charlotte County firefighters retroactive pay raises, union representatives said they were disappointed in the county’s reactions and noted that they agreed to even further salary concessions — something administration adamantly refused.

“To hear them say we didn’t try to bargain with them was kind of crappy to hear, to be honest with you,” said Jay Nine, district vice president of the Charlotte County Fire/EMS bargaining unit. “It was disheartening to say the least, because, really, we negotiated in good faith.”