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Luzerne County must come up with more than half a million dollars this year to cover raises in three newly finalized union contracts, but the county saved about $115,000 on health care concessions, officials say.
County Manager Robert Lawton told council Tuesday he has a plan to fund the unbudgeted expense without dipping into a $430,000 reserve. He and other officials didn’t want to tip the county’s hand in contract negotiations by including estimated raises in the 2015 budget.
About $840,000 of the $42 million earmarked for payroll can be tapped for the union raises because the county typically has a 2-percent position vacancy rate due to delays replacing employees who leave, Lawton told council.
The administration estimates the raises for around 480 union workers will total $538,000 after health care savings.
The new contracts cover unionized prison employees, assistant district attorneys and public defenders and a multitude of workers in the residual union, including 911 telecommunicators, security guards, maintenance crews and other support staffers in various offices.
All three unions have been working under contracts that expired the end of 2013, and none will receive raises for 2014.
The pay increases for the other years, according to information obtained from various sources:
• Prison — 2.5-percent raises this year and 2 percent in 2017 and 2018. Instead of a raise, workers will receive 2.5-percent bonuses that are not permanently added to their base salaries in 2016.
The compensation of corrections officers ranges from $28,155 to $56,311, according to the county’s position report. A 2.5-percent increase would be $704 at the low end and $1,408 on the high.
• Assistant district attorneys/public defenders — 2015, 3 percent; 2016 and 2017, 3.25 percent; and 2018, 4 percent.
The salaries of most full-time assistant district attorneys range from $40,000 to $52,300, which equates to raises from $1,200 to $1,569 this year, county records show. The compensation for full-time assistant public defenders runs from $40,000 to $64,550, records show.
• Residual — 2015, 2.5 percent; and 2016 and 2017, 2 percent.
A 2.5 percent increase would be $765 on the average residual salary of $30,600, which was tallied based on county payroll records.
A county council majority approved the contract with residual workers Tuesday. Some union workers were not thrilled with the new contract, but it passed last month largely because most did not want to strike without pay.
The prison and assistant district attorneys/public defenders obtained their new contracts through binding arbitration because they don’t have the right to strike.
Council approval is not necessary for these two contracts because the county is legally required to honor binding arbitration awards, officials said.
Insurance changes
The prison arbitration ruling addressed a lingering complaint that these workers were among the few who haven’t switched to contributions of at least 10 percent.
Non-union workers and others paying 10 percent of the actual health care costs currently contribute the following monthly amounts: single, $53; employee/spouse, $126; family, $154; and parent/children, $105.
Prison union workers were paying a flat $60 per month toward health care.
In 2018, prison workers must pay 10 percent of the actual cost and a $500 or $1,000 deductible for hospital admissions and some other specialized services that is being phased into employee plans.
Until then, prison employees will pay the following monthly rates: single, $45; employee/spouse, $90; family, $110; and parent/children, $85.
The assistant district attorneys/public defenders were paying 10 percent based on stale calculations that capped their monthly payments at $50 for single coverage, $105 for employee/spouse and $90 for parent/children — with no deductible.
The arbitration ruling switches these workers to updated 10-percent premiums this year, and the deductible kicks in starting 2016.
The residual workers also had outdated 10-percent contributions and will start paying the updated amounts and deductible this year.
Mixed reviews
County officials expressed satisfaction over the lack of raises in 2014 and conversion of more employees to 10-percent contributions based on current costs.
Prior commissioners had started inching the workforce to 10-percent contributions more than a decade ago.
Some county officials have proposed switching employees to 20-percent health care contributions to help with finances, but such a change likely would take several cycles of union contracts to implement.
Teamsters Local 401 union head Pat Connors, who represents assistant district attorneys/public defenders, said the union members look forward to the pay increases.
“We’re more than happy with the award we received,” he said.
Thomas Borum, business manager of LIUNA Local 1310, which represents prison workers, had mixed feelings about the arbitration award. Employees must absorb higher health care costs, though the county plan is still more affordable than many in the private sector, he said.
“I still feel we’re making out OK. Our prison workers have a high-stress job, and we’ve always stepped up and tried to help,” Borum said.