Merced County sergeants and investigators are getting pay raises

Pay raises for Merced County Sheriff’s sergeants, corrections sergeants and District Attorney investigators were approved on Tuesday by the Merced County Board of Supervisors.

About 35 members of the Merced County Law Enforcement Sergeant’s Association will receive a 6 percent raise over the next two years, according to the agreement between the union and county.

The two-year contract will provide the sergeants and investigators a bit more than a cost of living raise, said Frank Swiggart, the union’s president.

“We’re pleased with the contract,” Swiggart said. “The MOU came through good talks with the county. It was a positive journey.”

The last two years, the county’s top law enforcement officials appealed to the board of supervisors to give pay raises to overworked sheriff’s deputies as the department suffered record-low employment numbers during a time the county saw record-high homicide rates.

Though the sergeants and investigators did not suffer from the same issues, the deputy’s issues did have a ripple effect on the the union’s members, Swiggart said.

“We have a very young sergeant staff,” he said. “We’ve lost a few from retirement and it’s taken a while to fill those positions.”

The Deputy Sheriff’s Association, which represents deputies, tried for more than a year to negotiate a new contract with the county. The county and DSA entered a three-year agreement in August 2016.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Merced County sergeants and investigators are getting pay raises."