By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

PARIS – The Oxford County commissioners on Tuesday signed a new union contract with the patrol division of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Deputy Jim Davis said Wednesday there were few changes in the contract. Raises will remain at a standard 3 percent increase. “We have had our insurance company moved from one company to another, which has saved the county a considerable amount of money,” he said. Davis added that sheriff’s deputies will for the first time be given the opportunity to receive cash payments for opting out of the county’s insurance policy. That was “kind of an innovative idea that the commissioners negotiated,” Davis said.

Also, the county changed a former policy that allowed deputies to receive 100 percent of their sick leave benefits when leaving the department. “We were able to get that reduced to 50 percent for the amount of sick leave accumulated up to 20 years,” Davis said. After an employees have been with the sheriff’s office more than 20 years, they will be eligible to receive 100 percent of the accrued sick leave, he said. There is a cap on the amount of sick leave an employee can accrue. Overall, Davis said, the negotiation process went smoothly. The corrections division will be up for contract negotiations next year.