Approximately half of Clark County’s 1,640 employees are now on track to start paying a portion of their health insurance premiums in 2012.
Last week, Clark County commissioners approved a collective bargaining agreement for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Support Guild.
Clark County Human Resources Director Francine Reis said the support guild has 98 members. It includes employees who work in records and information technology for the sheriff’s office.
Reis said eight other unions have agreed to the same health care terms, bringing the number of employees who will begin paying a portion of their insurance premium to 863.
Negotiations with other unions are continuing, she said.
According to the agreements, the employees will pay 7 percent of the 2012 rates. That’s still less than many private-sector workers pay.
Reis said the support guild members will not receive a cost-of-living increase or general wage increase, but may be eligible for step increases. More than half of the employees are not eligible for the step increases, she said.
The agreement was negotiated as part of the county’s normal process and wasn’t prompted by the potential of layoffs, Reis said, but the agreement does reflect the county’s tight budget.
In 2010, 1,150 employees went without a wage increase while 136 received a wage increase that had been previously negotiated.
Nearly 1,000 employees have had or will have their pay frozen for two years.
The pay freeze started with managers.
Commissioners voted in 2008 to freeze pay for 286 managers for 2009-10, so those employees are now eligible to receive a 2 percent salary increase, based on merit.
“Some of those people may not receive increases,” said Mary Keltz, county spokeswoman.
The county’s top managers may be eligible for a merit increase but the county has cut their 2.5 percent deferred compensation for two years, a move expected to save $160,000.
The county’s general fund budget, projected at $280 million for the next two years, has been cut by $62 million since the 2007-08 budget.
The budget calls for employees to pay an additional $5.8 million for health care in the next biennium.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
