Carbon County and Teamsters Local Union No. 773 have reached an agreement.

On Thursday, the county commissioners voted to approve an agreement with the union, effective Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2015. Thirty-three corrections officers at the prison make up the union in question.Commissioner William O'Gurek outlined some of the terms of the contract.Under the new agreement, the officers received no raise in 2013. They will now receive a 3 percent raise in 2014 and another 3 percent increase in 2015.There are also increases in the co-pays for medical and prescription coverage. Co-pays for medical appointments increase $3.50, from $15 to $18.50 in 2014; and will increase $5 in 2015, from $18.50 to $23.50. Prescription co-pays will increase $6 in 2014 and remain the same in 2015.Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard thanked Eloise Ahner, county administrator, and the team of negotiators who made the agreement possible."They spent a lot of time on this," he said. "We're pretty happy with the numbers."He noted that the county did also give little increases in some odds and ends for things like uniform parts.O'Gurek added that the union members worked without a contract in 2013 after negotiations failed. The matter was settled through arbitration.In other matters, the county entered into an agreement with Mailroom Systems Inc., for 1-, 2- and 3-ounce first class mail. The company will pick up Carbon County's mail and presort it before taking it to the USPS distributing center in the Lehigh Valley.The cost will be 46 cents instead of 48 cents for 1-ounce mail; 46 cents instead of 69 cents for 2-ounce mail; and 72 cents instead of 90 cents for 3-ounce mail.O'Gurek, who voted yes but had many reservations, said that he was a concerned because of the cost saving figures.The company initially said the county would save about 15 to 18 percent but according to calculations done at the county, Carbon would save about 4.1 percent or roughly $6,000 annually on its mailings.He also said postmark delays may be an issue.Robert Crampsie, county controller and secretary to the retirement board, asked if retirement checks would go through the system because any delays would cause concern with the retirees, who depend on the checks.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman, said the company said there shouldn't be any delays in the mail.Gerhard said that the county can opt out of the contract at any time if problems arise.The county also acted on the following items:• Reappointed Gregory Mousseau of Jim Thorpe to the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission for a three-year term, from May 1 through April 30, 2017.• Appointed Barbara Green, president/owner of Blue Mountain Ski Area, to the Pocono Workforce Investment Board. She replaces Lee Bond, who was the private sector appointment.• Approved the release of funds under the Memorandum of Understanding with the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau to support a grant initiative in the amount of $5,000 for Jim Thorpe Borough Council's police budget for 2014 tourist activities.• Approved an agreement with Diane Matthews-Gehringer for professional services relative to the operation of the Carbon County Farmland Preservation Program. Services will be provided at the rate of $25 per hour, not to exceed $9,600 plus mileage and tolls.• Approved a proposal submitted by Ingram Engineering of West Chester, for professional services relative to the lighting retrofit project at the courthouse, courthouse annex and 76 Susquehanna St. building in the amount of $5,850.• Hired Stephen J. Gulla of Summit Hill as a seasonal park ranger II, Parks, effective April 17.• Appointed Jeffrey P. Aster of Walnutport as the part-time county detective in the District Attorney's office, effective April 14.• Gerhard reported that $312 was recently raised through a hoagie sale, hosted by Sara Martz, a 10th-grade student at Lehighton Area High School for the county dog shelter. The shelter will also be selling pizza at the Nesquehoning Grand Prix, and a donation of eight-foot tables as well as chairs are coming in for use in the educational part of the shelter.