County workers take wage freeze
The county will pay more of the employee retirement contribution.
WARREN -- Bargaining units representing Trumbull County employees in four offices have agreed to a wage freeze until Jan. 1, 2007.
American Federation of State, County & amp; Municipal Employees Locals 2493, 3808 and 3808-A and Ohio Council 8 announced the agreement with county commissioners Wednesday.
They represent more than 200 employees in the commissioner's, treasurer's, clerk of courts' and recorder's offices. Their current contracts were to expire in July but now will be enforced until July 31, 2006.
The county did agree, however, to pick up an additional half-percent of the employees' share of public employee retirement contribution effective Jan. 1, 2006. This will cost the county $29,700 a year for employees in those four offices, county administrator Tony Carson said.
Commissioners are hoping that unions representing other offices, such as the auditor, prosecutor and courts, will take the same freeze in light of county finances this year. Adding them to the half-percent pickup of retirement contribution would raise the county's cost to $65,000.
Negotiations with the sheriff's department and 911 center are ongoing.
Insurance costs will remain the same until at least July 31, 2006, and anniversary pay steps shall remain in force.
The county offers employees three choices of health plans, with benefits and contributions dependent upon the plan's offerings. Most employees, Carson said, pay $40 per month if they're single and $80 a month for a family.
"Trumbull County was one of the first political entities to start having employee co-insurance," since about 2002, Carson noted.
Agreeable resolution
The latest agreement followed two months of discussion.
"It's an 18-month wage freeze. I think it's real good, and I appreciate everyone recognizing the situation we're in," Commissioner Daniel Polivka said.
The county's total payroll is about $20 million; Carson figures each 1 percent pay increase would cost the county $200,000.
Carson said the most recent wage increase for the employees was effective in August 2004. The employees saw their wages increase 26 cents and 30 cents an hour over two years, but because they started paying toward insurance, the increases in health care cost have eaten up the wage increases, he said.
"We've actually negotiated very employer-friendly contracts the last few years," he said.
By this fall, the county will begin to see revenue from its two additional, quarter-percent sales taxes (for general operations and criminal justice services). For this year, however, the county's general fund is lean and employees in some offices are on layoff or reduced hours.
Carson stressed that the revenue from the new taxes won't be used for pay raises. "That, to me, is a trust issue," he said. "We knew we needed that money to maintain the services in Trumbull County and to maintain our buildings."