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New contract for deputies approved, county discusses pay scale

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FARMINGTON – The County Commissioners and the union representing Franklin County Sheriff’s Office employees have agreed upon a new contract, providing an increased wage while restricting the accrual of personal time off. Commissioners will further discuss the pay of non-union employees across the entire county in the coming weeks.

The contract, which was previously approved by commissioners and then ratified Friday by the Fraternal Order of Police, would apply retroactive to July 1, 2017. Deputies have been working on the old, expired contract since June 30, 2017. According to County Clerk Julie Magoon, it is a three-year contract, with a $1 per hour increase applied during each of the three years. Overtime pay would increase by 24 cents an hour. The contract also offers staff available on an on-call basis a $500 annual stipend.

The new contract limits the amount of personal time, used for both illnesses and vacations, that employees can accrue: down from more than 1,000 hours to a maximum of 480 hours. According to Magoon, the contract also no longer allows accrued time to vest, meaning employees will simply lose any saved time at the end of their employment with the county. Under the previous system, which included a vesting option, employees could redeem their saved time for between 50 and 100 percent of their per hour wage, depending on when they were employed.

The accrual of personal time off by employees has been an issue the commissioners have spent significant time and effort on over the past year. Due to the longstanding nature of many individuals’ employment, the potential for a number of retirements to trigger vesting options represented hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential costs for the county. Previously, the commissioners provided non-union employees with stipends to limit those vesting options to no more than 480 hours at a reduced compensation rate. Commissioners have also earmarked some of the county’s reserve funds to cover the liability.

The contract only applies to FOP union members, which does not encompass the sheriff or other command positions.

Commissioners reviewed a salary survey prepared by Human Resource Partners, LLC, as the county looks ahead to a further discussions about the pay scale and personnel policy. Commissioners intend to meet on April 30 at 9 a.m. to continue those discussions in advance of the budget process, much of which will take place in May and early June.

The salary study indicated that on average the county employees were very near the average level that Human Resource Partners had created by looking at other counties and municipalities, with Franklin County coming in at 99.6 percent. Certain positions were lower, patrol deputies for example were previously listed at 89 percent of the average surveyed pay, while others were higher. Donald Tyler Jr., representing Human Resource Partners, noted that he recommended looking at raising the pay of employees that fell below the 90 percent of surveyed average mark. He said he did not recommend cutting the pay of employees above the mark.

Franklin County’s benefit package was competitive to other surveyed entities, Tyler said.

Human Resources Partners provided a list of suggested salary ranges that Tyler said could serve as a framework for the commissioners’ discussion.

The discussion will be continued on the April 30 meeting. The Franklin County Budget Committee has planned four meetings in May to discuss the budget, including a final vote tentatively scheduled for May 31. The commissioners would then take up the budget for their final review in early June.

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