Pay raises for county deputies weren’t the problem for Bucks County Commissioners during a regular business meeting June 18 – rather it was putting pay increases into employee’s pockets ahead of an inked contract with its union.
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia didn’t mince words. At the meeting she called out Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran and Republican county Controller Pamela A. Van Blunk for processing pay increases and finalizing job classification upgrades before commissioners signed the county’s employment contract with the deputies union.
“There were people back then (in February) who said we should have gone to court and stopped it, but we didn’t want to do anything to hurt the deputies,” Marseglia said.
“I was shocked that on March 28 our Controller paid deputies the money that was approved at salary board; that had not been approved in the contract, that we hadn’t done a side letter on, violating labor rules…[ and was] possibly even illegal,” Marseglia added.
Bucks County Salary Board is made up of all three county commissioners and the county Controller in this role they are able to approve positions and salary amounts for employment – but not sign employment contracts. Under state law, county commissioners are the only officials legally able to sign contracts, Marseglia said.
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees 13 (AFSCME13) are the collective bargaining unit and union representing Bucks County sheriff deputies.
Calls to AFSCME13 were not returned.
According to BucksCrimewatch PA about 75 deputies are employed by the Bucks County sheriff’s department. A request to Harran for comment was unsuccessful.
Commissioners have since authorized the deputy’s pay raises and job classification changes.
Bucks County employs roughly 2,600 union and nonunion workers, and county employees who belong to unions are represented by 18 collective bargaining units, a county representative said.
Marselgia criticized Sheriff Harran and the Controller Van Blunk, the county’s chief financial officer and auditor, for “bypassing” the commissioners and the deputy’s union by processing – and paying raises – during ongoing contract negotiations this spring. Van Blunk unsuccessfully ran for county commissioner in 2023.
Marseglia read a letter from AFSCME13 addressed to Van Blunk, which detailed the process for making employment raises and job class upgrades, which was sent on June 4. She said the controller and sheriff’s move undermined commissioners’ role.
Marseglia said in November 2024, Harran had requested raises and job classification changes for members of his staff.
The issue came up again in January and February. According to Marseglia, deputies set to receive pay hikes began to see them in March.
ZipRecruiter reported on June 17 deputy sheriff’s salaries fall between $53,100 to $80,700; with top salary earners making about $103,247.
“We think they [the deputies] may have deserved it … but you can’t do that when you’re in the middle of contract negotiations,” Marseglia said at the meeting.
She said Harran pulled the November request and asked again in January, though the union negotiations had not concluded.
After a meeting held between the commissioners, sheriff and their respective attorneys, Marseglia said the request came before the county’s salary board in February again.
According to the county’s website the salary board is responsible for the creation of new positions across county departments, salary caps and cost of living raises.
“I’ve never seen … salary board try to approve something – even though it [must be approved by] commissioners … even side letters have to be approved by commissioners,” she explained.
A side letter in government contract negotiations is a supplement to the primary or binding contract agreement, the Crystal Capital Partners website said.
From the AFSCME letter dated June 4:
As you know, under the Public Employee Relations Act (“PERA”), wages for employees in AFSCME bargaining units are subject to mandatory collective bargaining. They may not be changed unilaterally by the employer, but must be agreed upon by the parties through the collective bargaining processes established by PERA. Under PERA, AFSCME is the bargaining representative for the employees, and under 16 Pa.C.S § 14720 (formerly Section 1620 of the County Code), the County Commissioners are the bargaining representative for the County and all elected or appointed County officers having employment powers over employees paid from the County Treasurer’s Office.
The letter further outlines the step-by-step process by which employees are provided pay increases; employment increases and conditions cannot be “unilaterally” changed by the employer, but must be agreed to by all parties through the Public Employee Relations Act (PERA) established processes.
Bucks County Commissioners declined to comment further.
Danny Ceisler, a Democrat who is challenging Harran in the upcoming election to become Bucks County Sheriff, also declined to comment.
Eric Nagy, Bucks County director of policy and communications said the contract had been signed and was in effect.
The new pact for county deputies is effective from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027. A side letter for deputy labor grade adjustments was signed June 4 and is retroactively in effect to align with the new employment contract, Nagy confirmed in an email.
Channel 69 News.com reported in November that Service Employees International Union (SEIU Local 668) and commissioners had inked a three-year collective bargaining agreement in November that calls for 10% pay raises – the highest rate in over 30 years.
The pact runs until December 26, 2026, the news outlet reported. County employees had worked for more than 10 months without a contract, SEIU668 said.
View the entire county commissioners meeting here.
