A proposed two-tier wage structure for sheriff's deputies is a sticking point between the county and the employees' union in getting a contract ratified. This 2011 file photo shows a deputy training at the Butler County Government Center.

BUTLER — While the union negotiator says a reduction in the starting wage for new sheriff's deputies could mean difficulty in recruiting candidates, the commissioners chairwoman maintains that the county must not let expenditures overtake revenues.

John Listisen, the business manager and lead negotiator for Service Employees International Union local 688, said the four contracts currently being negotiated on behalf of county employees could be settled if it weren't for the two-tier wage system being pushed by the county commissioners and their negotiator, attorney Chris Gabriel.

In the system, newly hired sheriff's deputies would earn 80 percent of the highest wage level paid, which would amount to just more than $16 per hour. They would earn that wage for two years in the proposed wage system.

Listisen said new hires now earn about $22 per hour.

The union is now trying to have the sheriff's deputies placed in a separate category, so the wage scale issue can be negotiated without affecting other employees.

Leslie Osche, commissioner chairwoman, said the starting rate for sheriff's deputies in Butler County is higher than other counties in Western Pennsylvania.

“This is not unusual, to ask for tiers,” Osche said of the proposed wage system.

This is an excerpt — pick up Thursday's Butler Eagle to read the full article.