Mahoning deputies to get 2 raises

YOUNGSTOWN

A conciliator has awarded two 2 percent pay increases to Mahoning County sheriff’s deputies, which were requested in a wage reopener by the deputies’ union, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141.

One of the 2 percent raises is retroactive to July 1, 2014, and the other will take effect July 1, 2015.

Sheriff Jerry Greene told the county commissioners Tuesday that the finding by conciliator Harry Graham, which was rendered Dec. 16, is binding and applies to 185 deputies, 25 ranking officers and 13 civilian employees at the sheriff’s office.

The first 2 percent increase gives an entry-level deputy a raise from $13.10 to $13.36 an hour, the sheriff said.

The raises will cost the sheriff’s office about $180,000 a year.

David Ditzler, chairman of the county commissioners, said Audrey Tillis, county budget director, is working on finding the money for the raises.

Ditzler and the sheriff said the deputies deserve the raises, but the sheriff and the commissioners had argued that the county couldn’t afford them. The deputies are halfway through a three-year labor contract.

Read more about the matter in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.