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| County COs should get raise, panel rules |
| By kitsapsun.com - Chris Henry |
| Published: 06/05/2012 |
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PORT ORCHARD, WA — Corrections officers in Kitsap County will be getting a raise thanks to a decision by an independent panel, but not as large they wanted. A panel appointed by the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission made its awards in a dispute between Kitsap County and its corrections officers guild. The guild's contract expired at the end of 2009 and its demands, including retroactive pay increases and other concessions, would have totaled nearly $1.78 million, payable by the county in 2012, had the guild gotten everything for which it asked. The ruling, which came late Friday, was a compromise, however, and county officials Monday were scrambling to revise their estimates. Panel Chairman Howell L. Lankford, an independent arbitrator from Oregon, based his decisions on multiple factors allowed under Washington state law, including the pay and benefits of corrections officers in counties of comparable size and standard of living, as measured by assessed property value. Howell dismissed the guild's assertion that Snohomish County should be included in the list of "comparables," noting its population and per capita assessed valuation are three times that of Kitsap County. He also included four counties east of the Cascades, as suggested by Kitsap County, as well as Thurston and Whatcom counties. Howell did agree that Kitsap corrections officer compensation is low compared to the other counties, and he allowed for two increases in 2012 to help catch wages up. But he did not approve retroactive pay, citing arguments the county made about its financial situation in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In the three-year period following the recession, the county imposed wage freezes for most employees, voluntary and involuntary reductions in hours, and layoffs of 51 individuals. Read More. |
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