MAHONING COUNTY Officials OK 3-year pact

Employees agreed to pay 10 percent of insurance premiums.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners have approved a three-year contract with unionized employees of the county sanitary engineer's department.
The agreement is retroactive to April 1, said Sanitary Engineer Joseph Warino. It includes pay raises of 3.5 percent in the first year and 3 percent the second and third years.
Warino said union employees agreed to contribute 10 percent toward their health insurance premiums, which is something commissioners have said they want to see in all county labor contracts. A family plan costs employees about $62 a month, while single coverage costs about $27 a month.
Connie Pierce, county human resources director, said sanitary engineer employees are the second union to accept the 10-percent copayment. Children Services employees also have agreed to the copayment.
Awaiting a vote
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141, which represents deputy sheriffs, has ratified a contract that also includes the copayment, but that has not yet been accepted by commissioners. Pierce said that agreement should be voted on by commissioners Thursday.
Warino said his department gets its revenue from water and sewer user fees, not from the county general fund. The union represents some 72 employees.
William Coleman, office manager, said employee wages range from $13.05 for an entry-level employee to $19.64 for a treatment plant employee with at least six years' experience.
Commissioners also appointed John Beilhart of Leetonia to serve as the county's apiary inspector, a position he's held for the past three years. He inspects beekeepers' hives for disease and parasites.
bjackson@vindy.com