Mineral County Commissioner Roman Zylawy said there’s a lot of false information being reported regarding a strike involving Mineral County deputies, dispatch and detention employees.

Mineral County law-enforcement workers began a strike after working for nearly 11 months without a contract.

“I know these employees are worth more than they get paid,” said Zylawy, who is currently serving as the chairman of the board of commissioners. “I want them to get more money. But how do we fund it? We can’t spend money that isn’t there. We’re trying to be fiscally responsible to all of the county departments.”

Teamsters Local 2 business representative Shawn Fontaine said the union notified the Mineral County commissioners on Friday that its 16 members intended to strike, beginning Monday morning.

 Sheriff Tom Bauer, Undersheriff Mike Boone and clerk Roni Phillips are staffing the jail, dispatch center and handling public safety and coroner duties.

 Fontaine said the union had been trying to get a long-term contract for years, but has had to settle for one-year contracts.

The last one expired on July 1, 2015.

Zylawy said the county has had successful negotiations in the past, and employees have always gotten an increase “except last July — they refused the contract.”

Zylawy said people are approaching him with issues that are simply untrue. For example, someone told him the employees would come back if they could receive health insurance.

“Employees are covered 100 percent for health insurance,” he said. “They have always had it.”

The next step is for the county’s attorney, Dan Johns with Crowley and Fleck out of Kalispell, to file a request for mediation and try to get both parties back to negotiations.

“To meet the demands they have on the table, we’ll have to either take out a loan for the county, or the sheriff’s department will need to present a public levy for a vote, or they will need to cut some positions in order to fund the pay increase for other employees,” said Zylawy.

Currently, the Sheriff’s Office is working with a skeleton crew.

Two reserve deputies are assisting the sheriff and undersheriff. Dispatch has four retired employees who have agreed to come back and work some shifts. County prisoners will be taken to other jails, and court will be handled via video unless a personal appearance is required and then the sheriff will need to go pick up the prisoner.

“I don’t know how long this will take,” said Zylawy, but he hopes the parties can reach an agreement soon.

 Union members are picketing and handing out leaflets that say the Sheriff’s Office has seen a decline in funding for the past 10 years.