Supervisors ratify
collective bargaining agreement
By John Zornow

At a special meeting Tuesday in Lyons, the Wayne County Board of Supervisors ratified a collective-bargaining agreement with the Wayne County Sheriff's Employees Association, for the period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2011.

The new contract awards wage increases in the amount of 4.5 percent per year for four years. Workers have been without a contract since December 31, 2007, and both sides have been working on an agreement since November.

The plan includes retroactive increases to the beginning of 2008, which will take about a month to process. Wayne County Fiscal Manager Keith Kubasik put a $972,000 figure on the four-year contract, but said projected savings in overtime, health-care costs and other concessions could save up to $630,000 during that period.

At an earlier meeting in September, Supervisors voted 'no' on a request by the Public Defender's office to send four attorneys to a training program in Tampa, Florida. The cost of the trip would have been covered by a Department of Criminal Justice Grant. The request, scaled down to allow two attorneys to attend the conference, was brought up Tuesday. Board members grilled Public Defender Ron Valentine, asking if others in his department had attended the same training.

Wolcott Supervisor Kim Park questioned the appropriation in these economic times.

Valentine said the training was a matter of quality of service and keeping the county out of lawsuits. Arcadia Supervisor Dick Colacino said, 'We have an obligation to provide proper training. It is a no brainer. If we don't approve this, we won't get our own money back.'

Lucinda Collier of Rose, Chairman of the Government Operations Committee, says she is in favor of the proposal, to keep skills at a high level. The expenditure was approved unanimously, with Supervisors Lyon and Hammond absent. Cost of the training is estimated at $2979 and will paid for entirely with DCJS grant funds, already in the budget.

Supervisors also authorized the Personnel Department to advertise for a replacement for the Director of Public Health, Linda Michielson, retiring November 30. The position will be advertised at a salary of $72,341 per year.

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