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By MELISSA M. JANOSKI melissaj@leader.net
Friday, January 28, 2000 Page: 9A
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Luzerne County deputy sheriffs agreed Thursday to
take a pay cut for security work at the First Union Arena.
The arena was expected to cancel the deputies’ contract to provide indoor
security for hockey games, concerts and other events if they did not agree to
a lower rate which could have cost deputies a lucrative source of extra
income.
The unionized deputies agreed to work for $13 an hour at the arena, slicing
their hourly fee anywhere from $3.50 to $7.85, depending on seniority.
More than enough deputies volunteer to staff the arena, said Deputy Joseph
Christino, union steward for the deputies.
“It’s a fair offer,” Christino said. No one voted against the offer, he
said, but he did not know how many of the approximately 40 deputies cast
votes.
The deal is for one year. It does not change the deputies’ pay for their
regular duties of transporting prisoners and serving legal papers. It also
does not change the arena’s obligation to pay for the use of county cars as
related to event security, a portion of insurance expenses and other costs.
Arena officials said they were pleased with the deputies’ vote. “We are
glad to have everything running smoothly and moving forward,” said arena
Authority Chairman Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre.
The arena turned to the county after two years of negotiations with the
Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department stalled. The contract – which called
for the arena to pay “an amount equal to all costs” – was signed two days
before the first hockey game. That usually amounted to overtime rates of up to
$20.85 an hour for the most senior deputies.
“We had to get the building open,” Blaum said.
Although the venue is profitable, security coverage turned out to be more
expensive than expected, said arena Director Andy Long.
Coverage from Nov. 13 through Dec. 30 cost the arena $30,857, according to
county records. That cost would have dropped even without Thursday’s agreement
because the deputies now work only inside the arena. At first, they also
directed traffic, a job now handled by the township police.
The arena authority – a public body authorized by the county – did not put
the security contract out for bid. Under state law, it was not required to
because security coverage is a professional service, not a product, Blaum
said. He said the authority preferred to work with a government law
enforcement agency.
After the arena’s search for a better price became public, the owners of
two Wilkes-Barre companies, Krayer Detective Agency Inc. and Century Security
Services Inc., both of Wilkes-Barre, said they would have liked to bid on the
contract.
Call Janoski at 831-7331.