Lake County correctional officer Lt. Yolanda Brown walks through the upper-level of the mental health unit at the Lake County Jail on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)
Lake County commissioners Wednesday took the final step in approving the collective bargaining agreement with county’s corrections officers.
The deal, signed last week by the Lake County Council, includes a 7 percent pay raise retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year along with set increases of 4 percent per year in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Commissioners’ President Mike Repay, D-Hammond, said he was pleased a deal was reached.
“We’re happy to have in writing what we all feel is important, which is good pay for the hard work that they do in the jail,” Repay said.
Corrections officers will receive a 7 percent pay increase this year, bringing the starting pay for a correctional officer to $48,270, up from $45,112, effective retroactively to Jan. 1, according to the collective bargaining agreement.
Starting pay for probationary officers will climb from $40,572 to $43,412. Correctional sergeants will start at $54,638 up from $51,964 while lieutenants will go from $53,470 to $57,213. Deputy wardens base will start at $59,397, up from $55,511, while assistant wardens will be paid $62,001, up from the current $57,945. The salaries reflect starting base pay and apply to the department’s union officers.
County officials have said the pay increases will help level the playing field and bring the salary more in line with other area corrections facilities, a move they hope will make it easier to attract and retain workers in a highly competitive job market. Currently, the jail is short about 47 correctional officers short of being at full staffing levels.
In other news, commissioners took under advisement four bids to replace the roof at the fine arts building at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-St. John, said a bad roof leak at the building in the spring caused about $100,000 in damage after water came pouring in. At that time, officials determined the roof needed to be completely replaced.
Since the building is utilized by the Lake County Fair, repairs had to be postponed until after the event was complete.
“There wasn’t enough time to replace the roof before the fair,” Tippy said.
He said officials would like to remodel the Fine Arts building and add heating and air conditioning so the space ultimately can be rented for weddings and events. Those plans have been placed on a back-burner while the roof work is underway.
“Hopefully we will be able to do a little further remodeling in there,” Tippy said.
Bids were received from Babilla Roofing and Sheetmetal of Gary; Slatile Roofing and Sheet Metal Co. Inc., of South Bend: J & F Chiatello Construction Inc. of Dyer, and Korellis Roofing Inc. of Hammond. Two types of roofing were considered in a base bid — an alternate, a fully adhered PVC roof membrane system and a fully adhered thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) system.
“In the past several months. The PVC was more readily available, but since everyone went to it, it’s lead time increased to be comparable to TPO,” Tippy said.
Typically the county uses TPO. Officials will be qualifying the bids this week. Tippy said officials will not know how long it may take to get supplies so the job can begin and be completed until the bid is awarded.