The new deal is with the sheriff’s sworn officers, the deputies and their supervisors at $2 million over the life of the agreement. The deputies are getting 5% wage and step increases this year and 4% the next two years plus longevity incentives when employees hit their five, 10 and 15 year anniversaries — of 2%, 2.5% and 2.75% respectively.
The wage and step increases for the supervisors are 4% all three years and longevity pay hikes that mirror the deputies’ deal. The sheriff’s Finance Director Vickie Barger told the Journal-News she budgeted a 3% across-the-board increase for raises in the $49 million general fund budget this year, so the additional cost for the new contracts amounts to roughly $300,000 for the 112 deputies and 24 supervisors.
Wage increases for the FOP contracts last time were 3% across the board.
Major Mike Craft told the Journal-News the deputies were being underpaid compared to other “like and similar” counties and police departments, that’s why they received a higher year-one pay bump than the rest. They also had to eliminate the bottom two pay ranges or “steps” to help with entry level hiring.
“When negotiations s
tarted the union’s attorney had a valid point, law enforcement is having trouble hiring people, they are having trouble getting good candidates because you’re not paying enough,” Craft said. “Our entry level was in trouble, it was way low from what other agencies entry level is. So to fix that we took the bottom two steps and eliminated them and then we equaled out all the steps and balanced things out, so now an entry level deputy is competitive.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The step system is standard in law enforcement, union employees not only get negotiated annual raises but an additional yearly increase for the first six years for deputies and five years for the supervisors.
“The reason for the steps is simply this, I don’t want to hire a deputy sheriff and be paying him as much as I’m paying somebody that’s been out there five or six years and has all that experience,” Craft said. “You’ve got to earn to get up to that top step.”
According to the new contracts the pay range for court security deputies — they are on the lowest rung of the seniority ladder — this year is $62,088 to $78,166 and there are six steps from rookie to the top range. At the top of the scale the range for lieutenants’ pay goes from $106,516 to $127,046 in four years.
There are four more civilian bargaining units within the sheriff’s office representing corrections officers and paramedics and their supervisors, dispatchers and clerical specialists. They received across-the-board 2.5% pay hikes each year of the last contract that contract expires April 25. The county will also be ratifying new deals with the Building and Zoning Department employees, Children Services, Child Support Enforcement and Job and Family Services.
The new agreement giving roughly 75 union employees in the Water and Sewer Department a 5% pay hike this year will cost an additional $257,875. Water and Sewer Director Jim Williams said for years two and three the employees have agreed to participate in the commissioners’ pay for performance plan — 2% added to the base and an additional 2% lump sum both based on merit — so it isn’t possible to give concrete costs at this early juncture.
There are also hourly increases built in for employees who work at night, on stand-by for emergencies and some other extra pay categories. The pay ranges — which have been updated to reflect market rates — within the Water and Sewer operation under the new contract for this year are $37,960 to $45,905 annually for entry level clerks up to $70,345 to $84,406 for higher level chemists, plant operators and others.
He said the employees covered by the contract were paid nearly $4.8 million last year and the total including benefits for this year is around $5 million. His department like many others have struggled to attract and keep good employees post-pandemic, so the new pay package is welcome. He said “usually these things can go on for a long time” but this contract was ratified rapidly.
“This is a very good step in the right direction and we’re going to monitor this step over the coming years and really kind of focus in on how we can increase retention,” Williams said. “As well as show the employees that we value them, because we do. We value their service to the citizens and businesses of the county but most importantly we value them as people.”
Clerk of Courts Mary Swain has also ratified a new agreement with the union employees in the title division that will cost $80,926 this year and $111,273 next year. They have agreed to participate in the commissioners’ pay-for-performance program in year three so cost estimates aren’t available.
Things are done a little differently with this union, the 23 employees are getting a $2 increase to their hourly wage this year and 75 cents in 2026. Under the new contract entry level title clerks will make $38,238 annually this year and $39,603 thereafter until merit raises kick in. Top level bookkeepers will make $46,956 this year and their salaries increase to $48,321 in 2026.
Swain has gone to the commissioners twice during the life of the contract asking for annual pay increases to help retain employees. Chief Deputy Joe Statzer told the Journal-News the pay bump was imperative because, “We realized the way the country was going, and inflation was going and pay was going and that you could run down to Wendy’s and get a job for about the same as we were paying... we just needed to keep them, we were losing good people.”
At the beginning of the last contract the clerks were earning $16.51 per hour with 50 cent raises due in each of the three years. In September 2022 they accelerated the raises so the clerks were getting the full $1.50 per hour increase at once. Last year they gave them an extra dollar, outside the contract terms, bringing the hourly rate up to $19.01.
“We have been playing catch up in pay for some time. Overall, we need to stay competitive and keep our title clerks, who we spend time training and are certainly valued by our office,” Swain said. “We do not want to lose them to other employment opportunities for more pay, including positions within our own county. We hope that this contract accomplishes these goals.”
Union representatives from the sheriff’s office and Water and Sewer could not be reached for comment. In years past union negotiations could get testy, but Melissa Slayback, president of the union representing the clerk’s office said, “they were more than agreeable this time and we really didn’t have to negotiate a whole lot, they were willing to just step up, they want to keep workers too.”
The commissioners survey the competition every three years to see how the county stacks up pay-wise and did a salary survey “refresh” last year. County Administrator Judi Boyko said “the county’s pay ranges were substantially lower than public sector peers and like positions in the private sector, increasing the pay ranges was a necessity.”
As a result, instead of the traditional two-part merit pay plan, the commissioners approved increasing the minimum pay ranges for all non-union employees and a 5% raise for those who are below the maximum for their pay range. The cost is roughly $650,000. This is a one-year deviation, they have said merit pay will return next year.
About the Author