County police officers and sheriff's deputies are going to court to seek an hourly pay raise equal to one they say county firefighters received earlier this year.

Yesterday in county Circuit Court, the officers and deputies filed an appeal of a March 23 county Personnel Board decision denying their grievance seeking a pay raise.

The officers and deputies argue that firefighters received a raise, since more than 80 percent of the firefighters had their hours reduced while their annual salaries remained unchanged.

They argue that "parity clauses" in contracts between the county and Fraternal Order of Police lodges representing officers and deputies require that they receive any raises given to firefighters.

In denying the grievance, the Personnel Board ruled that the parity clauses had not been triggered because firefighters had received no across-the-board raiseor increase in annual salary.