Merit Service: Yes on A

Proposition A on the June 3 ballot would exempt about one-third of Los Angeles County’s managers from Civil Service. The new classification, merit service, would give county government the flexibility to reward excellent employees and to weed out mediocre employees. We advise a Yes vote.

The majority of the county’s 42 department heads are already exempt from Civil Service. They serve at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors. Greater flexibility is needed at the top levels. Managers need more incentives to take risks, to innovate and in some cases to modernize. Under the current system, many extraordinary managers are motivated solely by pride in their work.

The ballot measure would exempt the next three layers of management--roughly 500 of the county’s 1,700 managerial employees, less than 2% of the county’s 74,000-member work force. These employees would trade their Civil Service protection for a chance at quicker promotions, higher pay and merit bonuses in the range of 2% to 5% of salary--similar to benefits that are common in private corporations. In return they would be held accountable for agreed-on goals.

Los Angeles County is massive. One of every three Californians lives here. One of every 30Americans calls this county home. The population hovers at 8 million, larger than that of 43 states. The county stretches from Malibu to the Antelope Valley to Long Beach to Pomona. It covers more than 4,000 square miles and 84 municipalities.

Providing services to millions is a monumental task. A single department, Social Services, for example, provides assistance to close to 1 million recipients.

The county also operates courts, jails, hospitals, libraries, beaches, golf courses, parks and botanical gardens. It licenses businesses, assesses property and collects taxes. The county is in the law-enforcement business and the adoption business, the animal-control business and the flood-control business. And there is more.

The list of county services goes on and on. It could grow longer, because local governments are getting stuck with greater responsibilities as the federal government cuts back its budget.

Los Angeles County needs strong and diverse management. The new merit classification assumes that most managers are capable and honest. The best and the brightest, the achievers, the innovators, the hardest workers deserve rewards. Proposition A deserves a Yes vote on Tuesday.