County reaches contract with LELS
The Swift County Board of Commissioners approved a contract agreement with the Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) union at their Nov. 1 meeting. There are still three other unions with which the county is negotiating contracts.
All of the labor agreements expire as of Dec. 31. A tentative agreement has been reached with LELS Local No. 10.
The major changes in the contract includes:
Increase county paid life insurance from $20,000 to $30,000.
2017 employee monthly insurance contribution: CMM Single‐ $79.25/Family‐$526.00; VEBA Single‐ $35.75/Family‐$449.50; HSA Single‐$0/Family‐$241.50. For 2018 and 2019, the lowest cost plan will be no cost for single, and for other plans the employee will split the difference 50 percent. For a dependent, the county and employee will split cost of increase 50/50.
On Jan. 1 all positions will move up one grade on the pay plan and all employees will move down one step. They will remain eligible for a step increase in 2017. In effect this will result in a 3 percent increase for all employees Jan. 1 and a 3 percent increase for all employees on their work anniversary dates.
The agreement provides for the following cost of living (COLA) adjustments on the wage table, plus all employees will remain eligible for a step increase: 2 percent on January 1, 2018, 2 percent on January 1, 2019.
The county’s LELS employees have ratified the proposed agreement. The county’s negotiating team recommended approval of the agreement as presented....
Seeking new 4-H office manager
Swift County will be working with the University of Minnesota regional Extension office on finding a replacement for local Extension office manager Casey Olson in the coming month.
Olson has submitted her resignation to take a job at the regional office in Morris. The resignation is effective Dec. 5.
County Board of Commissioners liaison to the Extension Committee Rudningen said that board approval to begin work on Olson’s replacement was needed as soon as possible so the search process could get underway.
The board voted unanimously to start the search and work with the regional Extension office on Olson’s replacement....
Solid waste contract
Commissioners voted unanimously to renew its solid waste non-processibles garbage removal contract with Waste Management. The company takes Swift County’s garbage to a landfill near Gwinner, N.D. The contract is for five years.
They are not increasing their tipping fee rate of $37.02 per ton for 2017, but starting in 2018 it goes up $1 a year, Swift County Environmental Services Director Scott Collins said. This charge does not include the hauling of the garbage, which is done by Pflipsen Trucking of Melrose....
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