COLUMBIANA COUNTY Arbitration is next in talks with sheriff's employees

The county is buying five new sheriff's cruisers.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Labor talks with Columbiana County sheriff's office employees are heading to binding arbitration.
County commissioners rejected a fact finder's report Wednesday that included a recommendation that the county grant raises totaling 9 percent over three years to 32 sheriff's office clerks, dispatchers and deputies.
Commissioners would give no specific reasons why they refused to accept the report. Sheriff's employees are working under an old contract that expired Dec. 31.
Initial offer
Sheriff Dave Smith said the county initially offered raises of zero in the first year, 2 percent in the second and 2.5 percent in the third.
The union countered with a higher offer, but Smith said he couldn't recall its specifics.
Wages in the department now range from a low of $10.53 an hour for a typist's position to a ceiling of $19.97 an hour for a lieutenant.
Smith said he objects to the fact finder's recommendation to permit sheriff's employees to revert to a health insurance program that the county abandoned months ago in place of one intended to save money.
Employees want the old plan back because it requires that they pay less out-of-pocket costs than the new plan, Smith said.
Like other county employees, sheriff's department workers do not contribute to the monthly health insurance premiums under either the old or new plan.
Smith also protests the fact finder's determination that the county continue providing holiday pay at 31/2 times an employee's regular rate.
Smith said he wants it to be reduced to 11/2 times the regular rate.
New cruisers
In other business, commissioners approved a lease-to-purchase deal that will provide five new cruisers for the sheriff's office.
The cost of each of the cruisers is $22,687, which includes a 36-month bumper-to-bumper maintenance and repair warranty.
The county will pay the $3,331 total monthly payment for the Chevy Impalas with revenue from fees the sheriff's office charges for serving various papers and for transporting prisoners.
Commissioners authorized bidding for an elevator to be installed in a building the county bought for use as a law library and county offices.
The building
The two-story former bank, on Market Street about a block from the courthouse, must have an elevator to make the second-floor office space accessible to people with disabilities.
Cost of the elevator is estimated at $152,000, which will be paid for with a court fund and federal grants.