Deputies Vote to Accept Wage Increase

SANTA ANA — Orange County sheriff's deputies voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to accept a wage increase of 19.62% over the next three years.

Dave Sawyer, a spokesman for the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said 84% of the 500 members who voted on the county's wage offer favored accepting the agreement.

Sawyer said the pact will benefit about 1,200 sheriff's deputies and district attorney investigators. A sheriff's deputy now earns $3,432 monthly.