Commissioners approve contract changes

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week approved contract changes to three sheriff’s department divisions.
During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners agreed to the modifications starting in 2016 and impacting the department’s corrections, law-enforcement and command-officers divisions.
Notable changes include a 2 percent raise in 2017 and again in 2018 in all three divisions, and a pension revision affecting employees hired starting after Jan.1, 2016.
Also, a new classification for the law-enforcement division was created. It calls for a $6-per-hour wage difference less at each step for officers assigned exclusively to work in a village, city or township under contract between the sheriff’s department and the municipality.