County commission / Local government / Sheriff's Office
Sheriff’s office rank and file will get pay raises under new union contracts
- Wendy DiAlesandro ,
Portage County commissioners approved multiple collective bargaining agreements with unionized sheriff’s office employees on Thursday, authorizing across-the-board raises.
All told, the raises will cost the county a little over $600,000 annually, including salaries and benefits, County Auditor Janet Esposito said.
The pay scales defined in the contracts are based on the term of the agreement or on longevity, beginning at entry level.
Upon ratification by the unionized employees, the new agreements are effective through Dec. 31, 2023, and give the sheriff discretion to place employees anywhere on the pay scale subject to experience and any special skills and licensures.
Thanking the commissioners for approving the agreements, Chief Deputy Ralph Spidalieri renewed the sheriff’s bid for more hires.
“We appreciate it, and thank you for this contract. This is definitely going to make us much much more sought by a lot of candidates,” he said. “For our jail especially this will definitely bring our corrections to be comparable to where they need to be to attract other good candidates.”
Spidalieri declined to answer questions from The Portager. The commissioners and a union representative could not be reached.
Below are copies of the collective bargaining agreements for each unit:
Wendy DiAlesandro
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.