Dec. 16—AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Commission adopted a proposal Wednesday by Sheriff Eric Samson to award union employees a wage hike beginning in 2022.
The Patrol Division would receive a wage increase of $2.25 per hour, while members in corrections, communications and the Civil Division would see their wages increase by $1 per hour.
The total cost of the wage adjustment would be $220,964, which will be paid through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds under the category "revenue losses," according to Treasurer Clarice Proctor. She is administering the $21 million the county is scheduled to receive.
County officials have said that federal guidelines allow them to recoup lost revenues from the pandemic.
Before the wage hike can be finalized, union members must approve the offer. Sgt. Delbert Mason, president of the Androscoggin County Employee Association, said he would bring the offer to his members for consideration.
The proposal also includes a $2,000 raise for the four members of the administrative staff on salary, who are in a different union.
Samson made the proposal because of what he described as a wage imbalance compared to neighboring law enforcement agencies. The sheriff added that the market standards and the wage standards have dramatically changed in the past year, and he is hoping to prevent his employees from being enticed to leave by those agencies. Compensation, Samson said, would buy a lot of goodwill.
"I want something done for the employees,"...
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