Commissioners to vote on contract with sheriff’s employees

Nov. 19--CANTON -- Stark County commissioners could finalize a contract this week with the county sheriff's lieutenants and captains, after approving contracts this year with the three other unions representing sheriff's employees.

The commissioners are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a tentative agreement between the sheriff and the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents the lieutenants and captains, Stark County Administrator Brant Luther said.

He declined to disclose the terms ahead of the meeting, as part of the commissioners' general practice not to reveal tentative agreements until they come up for a vote.

However, Chief Deputy Sheriff John Oliver said that in all four of the three-year contracts, employees generally received annual raises of 2 percent and had to contribute higher percentages of health insurance premiums. Both the sheriff's and the captain/lieutenant's negotiators reached a tentative agreement weeks ago.

Fact-finder's report

The commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a fact-finder's recommendation on a compromise three-year contract between the Stark County sheriff and about 106 sheriff employees, including corrections officers who also represented by the Fraternal Order of Police. Of the four sheriff's employee contracts, it was the only one to go to fact-finding, which is a nonbinding step to allow a third party to recommend a contract, before a contract can essentially go to binding arbitration as emergency responders generally can't go on strike. The prior contract expired June 30.

The county's employment attorney, Leslie Iams Kuntz, recommended that commissioners approve the report.

Oliver said the FOP local approved the fact-finding report the week before last, ending the impasse. The county prevailed in holding to 2 percent annual pay increases; the union had sought 3 percent. It also prevailed in requiring sheriff's employees to pay more for health insurance. But the union prevailed on the issue of higher longevity pay for the most senior employees.

Fact-finder Richard Novak held a hearing Oct. 31 at which both sides made arguments for their positions in the contract talks. He issued his recommended contract Nov. 10. The job classifications included besides corrections officers are automotive mechanic, clerk, maintenance repair worker and communication technician.

The employees currently pay 10 percent of health insurance premiums, up to $137.50 a month, with the county covering the rest. The share will rise incrementally to 13 percent by 2019, capped at $190 a month. Novak wrote that looking at a survey of about 1,200 public employer health plans, 13 percent was not an unreasonable contribution rate. Deputies and sergeants at the sheriff's office accepted the same language in their contracts negotiated earlier this year.

In recommending 2 percent raises, Novak cited raises for other public employers in the county and the county's expected loss of $2.7 million with the state repealing the sales tax on Medicaid Managed Care Organization purchases. However, he kept in a clause that would allow the sheriff's employees an additional raise if the sheriff's deputies get an additional raise.

Novak, citing precedence established by prior agreements, sided with the union in increasing longevity pay for employees in the union who had been with the sheriff's office for at least 25 years. He backed an annual bonus equal to 8 percent of pay for such employees. Deputies receive that benefit in their current contract.

He also sided with the union on clarifying overtime language.

A message seeking comment from George Macris, a corrections officers and one of the negotiators for the Fraternal Order of Police unit, was not returned.

Contracts finalized

Commissioners approved the contract with the sheriff's deputies in March and the contract with sergeants in September.

The deputies, who are represented by the Stark County Deputies Association, received annual raises of 2 percent. The contract has a clause where either party could by the middle of this month reopen negotiations on wages for 2018 and 2019 but it doesn't appear either side has invoked the clause. Over the three years of the contract, the lowest-paid deputy will receive an increase to $21.11 an hour in 2019 from $19.89 an hour in 2016. The highest-paid deputy will earn $24.63 an hour in 2019 in contrast to $23.21 last year.

The sergeants, who are also represented by the Fraternal Order of Police, agreed to a contract effective May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2020. Sergeants are also guaranteed an hourly wage that's 17 percent more than the highest paid rank-and-file deputy.

Luther said the county also this year finalized a contract with Stark County Engineers employees. And the county is in contract talks with the United Steelworkers local that represents employees at Stark County Department of Job and Family Services, and negotiations will take place soon with employees of the county's sanitary engineer's office. Talks for a new contract with the union representing the county's Building Department employees are expected in 2018 and with county dog warden's office employees in 2019.

Reach Robert 330-580-8327 or robert.wang@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @rwangREP

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