County, sheriff's deputies continue in wage negotiations

Highland County and the Fraternal Order of Police representing the deputies of the Highland County Sheriff's Office have extended negations to March so that both sides could collect and present "fact finding."

Highland County Sheriff Ron Ward told The Highland County Press that the only matter left to reach an agreement on is wages.  

"There has been what's called an extension agreement between the county and the FOP," Ward said. "That was an agreement that was signed in early December, and it is an agreement to fact finding until March 1."

Ward said that the union filed for "fact finding" in which "both sides present their side of the argument to a neutral party that works for SERB - the State Employee Relations Board. All collective bargaining jurisdictions fall under SERB. Basically, both sides have said that they need time to hammer it out."

Ward said that 2011 is the third year of a three-year contract for the deputies and "the only thing that is being negotiated is the reopening of the wages and insurance, and I believe the insurance has been settled."

Because of the county's financial state, the FOP did not accept a raise last year.

"They gave up a raise they were contractually entitled to this year due to the county's dire financial situation," Ward said. "So they are asking for a raise next year."

Ward said that due to unfair labor practice laws he was hesitant to say what amount the deputies were asking for and what amount the county had offered. 

"We're hoping that after fact finding there will be a resolution that is amenable to both the FOP and to the county," Ward said. "Obviously I think a lot of my people and that they do deserve some kind of raise. But we all understand the situation the county is in, and are trying to come to middle ground on these issues."

President of the Highland County Board of Commissioners Shane Wilkin said that the county was in the process of complying with some public records requests made by the union.

"The majority of our departments and our budget are not yet finalized," Wilkin said. "But the majority of the salary line items appear to be flat. Most of the county employees have gone without a raise. It's not a reflection that I don't think they're deserving, or a reflection of the quality of the work that they do. It's simply the economy that we find ourselves in at this point."