Ohio County Commission, Deputies Reach Deal in Pay Dispute

Photo by Joselyn King

WHEELING -- Ohio County Sheriff's Department deputies and the Ohio County Commission have reached an agreement pertaining to a deputy pay dispute and multiple lawsuits filed by the deputies.

Attorneys Teresa Toriseva, representing the deputies, and William Wilmoth, representing the commission, released a joint statement Monday afternoon indicating there would be a "significant raise" for all deputies and civilians working for the department retroactive to Jan. 1.

The settlement "also provides for better processes accounting for time, will assure more law enforcement coverage at The Highlands, particularly the Sports Complex, and clarifies and clears up ongoing issues with overtime and other time-off matters," according to the joint release.

The resolution will not become final until it is approved by vote of all affected law enforcement and civilian employees of the Sheriff's Department on May 16, and by a vote of the Ohio County Commission at its next regular meeting which is also on May 16, according to the attorneys. They added there would be no further comment until final approval of the agreement by all parties involved.

More specific details were not provided Monday afternoon.

On March 17, Ohio County Circuit Judge Ronald E. Wilson ordered mediation in the case after noting it was "a bad situation" to have the deputies and county officials in litigation over a pay dispute.

Since that time, Wilmoth and Toriseva were involved in at least three mediation sessions with mediator Steve Dalesio of Moon Township, Pennsylvania.

The case began just over a year ago on May 5, 2022 when deputies first filed pay grievances with the county. This action came after the county changed its payroll system to one paying employees "in arrears," and deputies claimed that as a result of this they were shorted a week of pay.

The Ohio County Commission at the time denied this was the case, and asserted the employment payment model was one that was commonly used.

In December, the deputies filed three lawsuits against the commission in Ohio County Circuit Clerk. These suits claimed the county owed the deputies a week of pay due to a change in payroll procedures, that they didn't receive the pay they should have during the pandemic, and that they had had to use their accrued sick time to take time off when infected with COVID while on the job.

In the days following the court filings, County Administrator Randy Russell sent a letter to the sheriff's department stating it would no longer call on them for overtime security at The Highlands, and was changing its overall overtime policies for the deputies.

Deputies next filed a grievance with the Ohio County Sheriff's Deputy Civil Service Commission, stating their contention that the move by the commission to end their overtime opportunities was in retaliation to the lawsuits they filed.

County Administrator Randy Russell testified during a civil service commission hearing on March 16 that the letter had been in the works for some time, and was crafted after deputies had not been available when requested for needed security at The Highlands.

The issues with the sheriff's department and their not being available for overtime security detail became apparent on two occasions last fall.

Deputies had been requested to provide traffic detail on Nov. 25, "Black Friday at The Highlands. Because there is only one way in and one way out of the development, traffic tends to bottleneck on the property. No deputies turned out for traffic work on Black Friday, Russell said.

A few weeks before that, security had been requested for a basketball tournament at The Highlands Sports Complex that involved teams from outside the area. A deputy was there for much of the day, but left before a fight broke out involving a team from Cincinnati.

Spectators jumped in to break up the brawl, and a patrolling deputy was called to the scene and responded quickly, according to Russell.