An agreement between Dane County, the Dane County Sheriff’s Deputy Supervisors and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association has been reached regarding their contracts for 2010-2011, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced in mid-December.
All other county unions had previously agreed to a 3 percent salary reduction, with the 45 Deputy Supervisors and 412 members of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association having been the only remaining holdouts to the county budget’s call for a voluntary cut in pay.
Instead of the across-the-board cut taken by other county unions, the agreement stipulates that sheriffs may agree to the voluntary 3 percent salary reduction in exchange for an additional eight days off.
Dep. Jim Brigham, vice president of DCDSA, said the sheriffs had accepted a 5 percent salary reduction in 2009. He added the county’s failure to adequately plan for the economic conditions was irresponsible.
A statement released by DCDSA on Dec. 29 announcing the ratification of the contract echoed the sentiments of Brigham.
“Dane County was not ready to weather the economic storm that all of us are feeling,” the statement said. “Many, many other municipalities in our area, and in our state, were able to weather this storm without cuts in services, pay reductions or layoffs, because they planned appropriately.”
Brigham said the contract agreed to in December was very similar to what had been offered in September of last year by DCDSA. However, Falk spokesperson Joshua Wescott said otherwise.
“From a county standpoint, I’d have to say that there were distinct differences between the contracts,” Wescott said. “The good news is that an agreement was reached, the contracts were ratified and we’re moving forward.”
One of the differences is in the length of the contract. Wescott said the 3 percent salary reduction for all county employees will cease at the end of the year; however, the contract agreement reached with the sheriffs was unique in that it was the only contract to be approved for a two-year period.
In addition to the 3 percent salary reduction, the contract stipulates a no-layoff pledge for 2010 for both the Deputy Supervisors and DCDSA.
The contract also calls for a 3 percent increase in salaries for the sheriffs at the end of the two-year contract in December 2011.
“The contract that was agreed to was very fair for all sides,” Wescott said.
The statement from the county attributes the $12.5 million reduction in available funding for this year’s budget to declines in various revenues collected on the county level and state budget cuts.
Dane County expects that with all county employees having accepted the 3 percent salary reduction for this year, a savings of $4.7 million can be achieved while still maintaining adequate public safety and human services throughout the county, the statement said.
“Because we received a two-year deal, the county government knows our personnel costs for the coming year and will allow them to accurately budget for us and hopefully avoid these complications again,” Brigham said.
