BILLINGS — Yellowstone County is negotiating with two unions to renew labor contracts. The negotiations have been going on since March and have gone smoothly, according to Dwight Vigness, the county’s human resource officer. He told county commissioners in a discussion on Monday that they are coming closer together and he expects a conclusion relatively soon with the MPEA (Montana Public Employees Association) and the county attorneys.
Vigness explained that he hopes to get four-year contracts with both groups.
The county has two strategies in dealing with the contracts. The MPEA is a large group, but its members are also among the lowest paid in the county. To bring their pay level up is a goal, said Vigness, but it has to happen within the capacity of the county’s budget.
County attorney wages must also be brought up to at least a $62,000 entry level wage, said Vigness. Yellowstone County pays its county attorneys the lowest of any of the five urban counties in the state, which poses a barrier in trying to recruit staff, said Vigness.
Proposals that are being considered in both discussions would increase wages from about 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent, varying from year to year.
