The union contract for three groups of Butler County employees has been settled and includes a two-tiered wage structure for sheriff deputies requested by the county.

The commissioners voted unanimously at a Wednesday meeting to approve the terms of the contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 668, effective Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The contract affects 250 county administrative professionals, administrative clerical and technical employees and court-appointed clerical and technical employees.

The county's 911 dispatchers, sheriff's deputies and Children and Youth Services caseworkers are among the employees who now have a four-year contract with the county.

The SEIU negotiator said last month that the major sticking point in negotiations was a two-tier wage system that would drop the sheriff deputies' starting wage from $22 to $16 per hour for new hires.

Leslie Osche, commissioners chairman, said last month that the county must ensure that expenditures do not overtake revenues. She said a tiered wage system was enacted among county corrections officers and no problems ensued.

Osche confirmed on Wednesday that the new SEIU contract does include the two-tier wage system.