Oconto County’s chief deputy sheriff was granted a 7 percent raise by the County Board on Thursday, to grant him higher compensation than the lieutenants he supervises.
Clark Longsine will earn an annual salary of $79,602, up from $73,923. The change takes effect May 31.
According to a recent collective bargaining agreement reached between the county and members of the Wisconsin Police Professionals Association, deputies and lieutenants pay 6.8 percent toward their retirement, the same share as the general county employees pay.
However, the county pays the deputies and lieutenants 6.8 percent more in wages. The agreement, which took effect Feb. 22, also grants a 12 cents an hour wage increase on June 28 and 2 percent increase in 2016 and 2017.
With the combination of wages, overtime and longevity, the lieutenants, on average, were earning approximately $850 more per year than Longsine, their supervisor. As a department manager, he is not subject to collective bargaining negotiations.
The annual cost of the chief deputy sheriff’s raise is $7,037 in salary and benefits, with the funds taken from the county’s contingency fund.
