Lee County has reached an agreement on a new 2-year contract with the union representing deputies and correctional officers in the Sheriff's Office.
The agreement, which has been ratified by both sides, runs from July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2016.
It calls for the deputies and c/o's to receive a 3.0% wage hike on July 1, 2014 and a 3.5% increase on July 1, 2015.
In exchange, members will pay more for their health insurance.
The current contract says single policies are free while a family policy costs an employee 10% of the difference between the two policies.
The new contract says a single policy will cost $7.50/month during the first year and $15.00/month during the second year.
The costs for a family plan would be $82.50/month and $90.00/month.
The contract also allows employees to accumulate less sick leave and recalculates how sick leave is factored into workweeks.
Both sides appear to have compromised on this agreement as the employees were seeking much larger pay increases while the county wanted them to pay even more for insurance.
Negotiations were relatively brief as the two sides exchanged offers less than three months ago.
