Deputies Union Agrees To Allow Orange County Supervisors To Monitor Spending of County Health Care Contributions
The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract with the sheriff's deputies union that will allow supervisors to regulate the union's allocation of $13.3 million in county health care contributions, the Los Angeles Times reports. As a result of the agreement, 1,800 deputies and district attorney investigators will receive raises totaling 8% over two years. The issue of health care contributions was the "most contentious element" in creating the contract, according to the Times.
The new contract, which is set to expire in October 2006, still allows the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs to have discretion over how much it can keep for administering the health care fund. However, two supervisors said they were concerned about this element of the contract because they believed that previous funds were used for union business and not health-related issues. County supervisors for the first time required that the contract mandate a "detailed independent" financial review of the union's health fund, the Times reports.
The review, which will examine administrative costs and several other elements, is expected to be reported to the union and supervisors by Oct.1, according to Bill Campbell, chair of the board of supervisors (Pasco, Los Angeles Times, 3/17).