New Philadelphia, Ohio - Employees of Tuscarawas County’s Department of Job and Family Services will see their paychecks increase by 3 percent each year over the next three years under a new contract approved last week by county commissioners.

The pay raises are outlined in a new three-year contract between JFS and the union representing approximately 80 employees of the county department.

Director David Haverfield says the pay raises are the only significant change in the contract and are consistent with the raises other county bargaining units saw during the last negotiating cycle.

“We try to stay consistent in that regard and also to live within our budget so we’re ok,” he says. 

Haverfield says he felt the raises were important because the agency has talented workers who do a great job despite sometimes challenging circumstances. 

“They’re very difficult jobs. Right now we’re dealing with a very challenging system that the state provided us in our public assistance area, and you’re well aware of the opiate crisis that our caseworkers deal with at Children’s Services,” he says. “It’s really important to me that we keep good people, that we get them and retain them and we pay them competitively.”

STACEY CARMANY, TUSCO TV