A new contract has been proposed for a small union representing supervisors in the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.

During a meeting of the Administrative Services Committee, members discussed a new agreement with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Supervisors’ Association that would run from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2025.

According to Human Services Director Jean Riley, the bargaining unit represents seven members. Negotiations began Aug. 10 and a tentative agreement was reached Sept. 30, which has been approved by the union.

In August, the legislature approved a union contract which included sergeants. Because of that agreement, this contract also calls for salary increases for lieutenants.

“The sergeants are hourly employees. They get overtime. The lieutenants are management, exempt employees, and they do not get overtime,” explained Riley.

In order to be able to entice the sergeants to look at promotional opportunities, Riley said the county needed to take into consideration not having a loss in pay because of the overtime. “We needed to keep somewhat of a gap — a little bit of a gap, it’s not a lot — between the sergeants and the lieutenants so that the sheriff has an opportunity to draw from his sergeant pool for promotions,” she said.

This proposed agreement calls for Step 1 pay to be $85,586, Step 2 pay to be $87,298, and Steps 3 and 4 pay to be $90,825. Pay for all four steps would increase by 4.36% in 2023, 3.89% in 2024, and 3.89% in 2025.

With higher pay for lieutenants, Riley that will impact the captain and the undersheriff. “Those also will probably need to be looked at,” she said, adding that a resolution affecting them will likely come before the legislature in November.

The CCSSA agreement also calls for minimal increases to the clothing allowance, food reimbursement and ballistic vests, a cell phone stipend, and changes to the health insurance, which mirrors other county union agreements. In addition, longevity payments would increase to $75 per year.

The Administrative Services Committee unanimously approved the agreement. The resolution was also approved by the Public Safety and Audit and Control committees.

The full county legislature will vote on the contract Oct. 27.