Linn supervisors OK 8.95 percent raise for deputies, dispatchers

Linn county sheriff's deputies and their dispatchers will see a nearly 9-percent increase in pay over three years under a proposed contract approved this afternoon by county supervisors.

The agreement with the county's 88 Public Professional and Maintenance Employees calls for a 2.3-percent raise next July 1 and increases of 2.7 percent and 2.95 percent in the following years. That doesn't take into account “step” increases of about 4.5 percent a year the workers receive each year on their first through fifth anniversaries on the job and on their 10th year.

Sheriff's office workers will also see their health insurance contributions increase July 1, from $10 to $20 monthly for single employees and from $80 to $95 for family coverage. The monthly contribution will increase another $5 for single workers and $20 for families over the life of the contract.

“It continues a decade-long progression towards bringing our health insurance costs in line with the private sector,” said Assistant County Attorney Gary Jarvis, who negotiated the agreement this week.

Participating by phone, Supervisor Ben Rogers noted the deputies and dispatchers' agreement “kind of foreshadows how our AFSCME negotiation is going to go.”

Negotiations have yet to begin with the 500-plus county members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Supervisors Rogers, Linda Langston, and Jim Houser unanimously approved the contract. Supervisors Brent Oleson and Lu  Barron were absent. The union's ratification vote is set for Tuesday.