Union presents three-year contract proposals for sheriff's office and secondary roads

Union representatives presented proposed three-year contracts for the sheriff's office and secondary roads during the supervisors' meeting. Speaker 9 summarized the main elements: an across-the-board 8% wage increase in year one, wage reopeners for years two and three, and targeted adjustments for classifications and benefits.

For the sheriff's office, the proposal included a $1-per-hour premium for sergeant and investigator positions above the highest-paid deputy when factoring shift differential and specialty pay, changes to vacation and holiday language (including an additional paid day when a vacation falls on a holiday), an increase in casual days from three to six, premium pay for holiday work (double time and a half in some requests), and an increase to longevity pay tiers. The proposal also sought to clarify inclusion of part-time employees in longevity calculations.

For secondary roads, Speaker 9 described a parallel three-year request with an initial 8% across-the-board increase, changes to sick-leave accrual (one and a half days per month), an updated boot allowance (up to $175 per fiscal year with a rollover to $275 if unused), a uniform allowance up to $300 annually, and a requested adjustment to longevity pay (removal of a cap after 20 years and incremental increases).

Speaker 3 moved to acknowledge receipt of the union proposal, and Speaker 1 seconded; the transcript records the board's acknowledgement but does not include negotiation outcomes. The written proposals were available for inspection, according to the summary.