The Lewis County government officially signed off on two more labor agreements last week, finalizing pay increases and other changes for employees at the Lewis County Juvenile Court.
The Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning approved two collective bargaining agreements with Teamsters Local No. 252, which represents two different groups of employees at the county’s juvenile court facilities. Both agreements, which apply to those working in juvenile detention, juvenile probation and clerical work, go into effect immediately and are set to expire at the end of next year, Dec. 31, 2027.
The county continues to make steady progress in renegotiating all 14 of its labor contracts, which dictate pay, benefits and other details of employment for all county employees represented by a union. After reaching the halfway mark in mid-January, the county has now finalized nine of the 14 contracts that expired at the end of last year.
The contract negotiations are important as expected increases in pay due to union negotiations were not accounted for in the county’s 2026 budget. The county already faced challenges balancing the budget headed into this year even without the union contract increases.
According to Lewis County Budget Administrator Becky Butler, the county saved some money on labor by switching insurers, but the actual budget impacts of cost-of-living wage increases will remain unclear until the end of the first quarter in March after all labor contracts are finalized.
The two contracts approved last week resemble many of the other contracts recently signed, with the county agreeing to relatively modest wage increases that match those agreed to in previous contracts. But notably the new agreements link salary increases in 2027 for both contracts to the consumer price index in the region. That index considers regional prices for things like groceries and other consumer goods to decide how much more residents are paying for the same products.
Juvenile Detention
Juvenile detention salaries are increasing 2.7% over the previous year's salary after receiving 3% increases the two years prior and a 4% salary increase before that.
The following year, in 2027, the contract stipulates that employees will receive an increase based on the consumer price index for the region, adding that the increase will range from a possible minimum of 1.5% and a possible maximum of 3%.
Juvenile detention salaries are broken up into three salary ranges. In 2025, salaries ranged from $4,471 a month at the lowest to $7,171 a month at the highest, depending on experience, position and other promotion criteria.
With the 2.7% increase, that range will go up to approximately $4,592 a month at the lowest and approximately $7,364 on the high end.
Juvenile Probation and Clerical
Cost-of-living salary increases for Lewis County Juvenile Court employees working on the probation and clerical teams will receive the same percentage increases over the next two years as their juvenile detention counterparts, but with a larger salary scale exact pay will vary more widely.
Just like the juvenile detention employees, the probation and clerical workers received a 2.7% salary increase this year after receiving 3% increases the two years prior and a 4% increase the year before that. The probation and clerical employees will also receive a 2027 increase based on the regional consumer price index, with a minimum increase of 1.5% and maximum increase of 3%.
Probation and clerical employees fit into seven different salary ranges, according to the recently-approved contract, with a much wider range for the salaries agreed to in the contract. In 2025, the salary range started at $4,284 on the low end and went up to $8,214 on the high end.
With the 2.7% increase this year, the low end of the salary range will go up to roughly $4,400. The high end of possible salaries for represented employees will get a bump up to $8,436.
