The sergeants who oversee the Spokane County Jail and the Geiger Corrections Center got a 2 percent pay increase this week after more than eight months of contract negotiations.

Another 2 percent raise will take effect in April 2017, and negotiations will open again in January 2018, according to the new contract, which was approved by the county commissioners Tuesday.

Union representative Natalie Hilderbrand said the jail sergeants’ old contract expired at the end of last year, and they temporarily renewed it during negotiations. She said they voted to approve the new contract in June.

The sergeants got two 1.5 percent raises in 2015. Their annual base pay at the end of last year was $80,921; on average, they made about $8,800 in overtime pay, according to The Spokesman-Review’s database of county employees.

The new contract also allows the jails to make its 22 sergeants work up to 16 hours of overtime per month. The old contract allowed up to 12 hours.

Pay has gradually risen countywide in the years since the recession, said Randy Withrow, the county’s labor relations manager. “The employees have been extremely patient.”

Expenses across most departments have seen a slight increase this year. The budget for the county jail eclipsed $30 million, up from last year’s $28.1 million.

Radio and forensics workers, who work under the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, also got a new contract Tuesday. Their union representative, Gordon Smith, said the contract made minor language adjustments.