NORWICH – After more than three years of negotiations, employees of the Chenango County Correctional Facility can say that they now have a contract to cover working conditions, wages and benefits.

This week, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors accepted a six-year labor contract agreement with the Chenango County Sheriff’s Employees Association (CCSEA), the representative labor agency for more than 70 personnel at the correctional facility in the Town of Norwich. The previous contract between the two entities expired Dec. 31, 2009, leaving employees without a contract since that time.

Terms of the new agreement cover the period of January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2015 and pertains to employees in dispatch, mechanical maintenance, building maintenance, the kitchen staff, the chief civil clerk, and corrections officers. The only department the contract does not apply to is road officers.

“We wish it was something that was done a long time ago, but we are happy that we finally came to an agreement,” said CCSEA representative Chris Golliver. “There was a lot of give and take until it all came together.”