The attorney for the Deschutes County Deputy District Attorneys Association has notified county officials that the group wants to reopen bargaining talks — and believes the county acted in bad faith by failing to vote on a proposed contract by the end of the year.

The letter, received Monday by Chris Bell, assistant legal counsel for Deschutes County, is a response to last week’s unanimous vote by the Deschutes County Commission to wait until January to make a decision on a contract approved by the union and county legal staff.

The agreement included a sought-after “just cause” provision, which would require the district attorney to provide specific reasons and follow a set protocol when disciplining or firing one of his or her deputies.

Deputy district attorneys’ interest in the provision was sparked by the election of Patrick Flaherty, who has said he plans to dismiss some prosecutors when he becomes district attorney next month.

On Monday, Flaherty notified four prosecutors that they would not be employed as of his first day in office.

There were 16 deputy district attorneys when the union was approved.

Flaherty declined to comment on the notifications.

In the letter, the union’s Eugene-based attorney, Becky Gallagher, wrote that the county did not hold up its end of the bargain when it delayed a decision on the contract.

“As you are well aware, when the Association and County entered into the (proposed agreement) this was with the understanding that there would be a vote by both parties prior to Dec. 31, 2010,” she wrote.

That date was not written in the contract, but Gallagher said the two sides had a verbal agreement and discussed the date in e-mails.

Bell said it was clear that the union wanted the vote by the end of the year, but doesn’t believe it was a mandatory part of the deal.

“For the association’s attorney to claim it was in bad faith for the commissioners to halt the process, I just think it’s baseless,” he said. “(Commissioners) made the reason clear. They wanted to see what Mr. Flaherty had to say about the process.”

Under state law, the two sides have 150 days — until February — to reach an agreement. If they reach an impasse, an arbitrator will be asked to consider proposals from both sides and select one.

The proposed contract does not include any guarantees of wage or benefit increases for the county’s deputy district attorneys. But if negotiations are reopened, Gallagher said the union intends to put those issues back on the table.

Bell said the commission could opt to take up the issue before the end of the year. If that doesn’t happen, the commission is scheduled to vote on Jan. 12.