Countywide : Deputies, County Locked in Contract Impasse
The contract between the county and its 1,100 sheriff’s deputies expired Thursday with talks still at an impasse, a spokesman for the deputies’ union said.
However, Bob MacLeod, spokesman for the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said the contract has been extended while the two sides try to come to terms through mediation.
The association seeks a 12% pay increase, saying the deputies are underpaid and rank 14th among the county’s 24 police agencies. A deputy with six years of experience earns $2,983 a month, MacLeod said.
The two sides broke off talks May 4.
“The county wants to maintain the status quo and not give us any raise,” MacLeod said.
He said that Wyatt Hart, the Orange County Jail commander who retired five months ago, has been appointed to mediate the dispute. A preliminary session was held Wednesday, MacLeod said, with the two sides set to meet with Hart again July 9.
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