Mahoning sheriff’s deputies get two 2 percent raises

December 31, 2014 at 12:08a.m.

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.

The deputies’ last raise was 3 percent in 2008, and the last previous raise was in 2002, the sheriff recalled.

The raises awarded by the conciliator exceed the two 1.5 percent raises that had been recommended by Sandra Mendel Furman, a fact finder, whose finding was appealed by the FOP.

The sheriff said he won’t be giving any raises to his nonunion command staff above the rank of captain.

“The timing’s awful. I don’t think the timing could be any worse to tell you the truth, but the reality of it is the timing was really just bad luck,” because the conciliator’s ruling came immediately after the voters approved a five-year, 0.75 percent sales tax devoted to the justice system, the sheriff said.

“It happens automatically whether there’s a sales-tax issue on the ballot or not,” the sheriff said of labor contract wage reopener provisions.

In their 50th and final meeting of 2014, the county commissioners appointed Dennis O’Hara as county emergency management director, effective Thursday.

After having been a planner with the agency, O’Hara became the county emergency preparedness agency’s interim director last January, when Clark Jones retired as EMA director for health reasons. Jones died two months after his retirement.

O’Hara now earns $50,857 a year, and Ditzler said he expects O’Hara’s salary will rise by $2,500 to $3,000 annually after he completes his six-month probationary period as director.

Also effective Thursday, the commissioners appointed Lynne Biery and Lori Factor to two-year terms on the county’s convention and visitors bureau board.

Reappointed to two-year terms on that board were Bruce Sherman, Sarah Lown, attorney Richard Thomas and Louis Zona.

The commissioners reappointed Gary Esasky, Richard Dowell and attorney Mark Fortunato to three-year terms on the county planning commission.