Supes reach agreement with Deputies’ association 

 After two years of negotiations, the SLO County Board of Supervisors and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association have reached an agreement for a new contract. The new deal allows sheriff’s deputies to retire after thirty years service with an annual retirement income of $66,000. The contract applies to about 260 non-managerial sheriff’s positions. The supervisors also approved a 4.9 percent pay raise for sheriff’s department managers.

 “It’s been a long and tedious process,� says Darren Murphy, President of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. “I think it wore everyone down on both sides.� Murphy notes that the contract garnered “overwhelming� support from union members. It will be in place four years, and will begin to be renegotiated six months prior to its conclusion.

 A few notable aspects of the new contract:
· Annual wage increases in 2007-2009 based on increases in Santa Barbara, Marin, Napa, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
· Officers designated by the Sheriff to perform bomb-handling duties shall receive a monthly stipend of $100 a month to compensate for the unusual time and other demands placed upon him/her.
· Members of the Dive Team shall receive a monthly stipend of $50 a month to compensate for the unusual demands placed upon them.
· A $3,000 sign-on bonus for new bilingual hires.
· An increase in the number of vacation hours employees may accrue from 280 to 320.