Hefty Raise Plan for County Bosses Brings a Backlash

Proposed raises of up to 10.5% under a new merit pay plan for Los Angeles County government executives encountered heated opposition Thursday from employee groups and a county supervisor.

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, one of five board members who must vote on the prospective pay raises, called the recommendations exorbitant and said that some department heads should be replaced rather than rewarded.

In a confidential report, county Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon has recommended pay increases for 28 department heads ranging from 6.5% for 17 department heads who “met expectations” in their job performance to 8.5% for 11 who “exceeded expectations.” Dixon recommended further increases ranging from 2% to 4% more for some executives because of “additional responsibilities, exceptional achievement or market conditions,” creating maximum increases of up 10.5%.

Called ‘Way Too High’

Hahn called the raises “way too high. Some department heads do not deserve a raise at all, and I’m going to try and stop this.”

“It’s outrageous,” said Sharon Grimpe, general manager of Local 660 of the Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, which represents about 40,000 county workers, half of whom are still bargaining labor contracts with the county.

Grimpe said that news of the salary recommendations comes as her rank-and-file members grapple with a county offer of a 6.5% increase spread over two years. “It shows that, as usual, the county cares more about their managers than their workers,” Grimpe said.

Dixon’s salary recommendations, if adopted by the Board of Supervisors, would represent the first merit raises under a performance-based pay plan that covers 400 of the county’s top managers.

Among those recommended for the overall 10.5% pay hike were the county’s affirmative-action compliance officer, the county counsel, the county librarian, the executive officer of the Board of Supervisors, the chief probation officer and the directors of data processing, parks and recreation and public social services.

Under the plan, County Counsel DeWitt Clinton’s salary would go from $89,964 to $99,410. The 10.5% pay raise is needed because Clinton’s salary is well below comparable positions in the private sector, Dixon said in his report.

Hahn, who attended a closed-door meeting Tuesday in which the salary recommendations were outlined, said he and other supervisors were “upset and unhappy” about the proposals.

But board Chairman Deane Dana, speaking by phone from Washington where he and the other supervisors have been meeting with county lobbyists and members of California’s congressional delegation, stressed that the report was a “preliminary document.”

“These are CAO recommendations that the five (board) members, including Supervisor Hahn, have not reached a decision on. We agreed Tuesday that we would look them over and get back together next week in executive session,” Dana said.

“I would say that in some cases, the raises could be more, but in other cases, the raises could be much less,” he added.

Dixon also was in Washington and unavailable for comment, but his chief deputy, Mary Jung, defended the CAO recommendations.

“If you look at the base pay of our department heads per se, you will see that they are far below those of other cities and the salaries in the private sector,” she said.

Jung added that the increases would be retroactive to last September when the merit pay raises were originally scheduled to be implemented.

“The department heads are a little bit unhappy at the moment because they haven’t gotten a pay increase,” Jung said.

Inviting Trouble

However, Grimpe of Local 660 said that if the board agrees to the new salaries, it will be inviting trouble from employees who are still in contract negotiations and who have been asked to accept lower wage offers.

“It changes the complexion of our bargaining. It gives us hope that there is more money there than they are telling us,” she said.

Other employee organizations also questioned whether some managers deserved hefty pay raises based on their job performance when they may have been remiss in some areas such as affirmative action.

Alan Clayton, a consultant with the Los Angeles County Chicano Employee Assn., which has filed discrimination complaints against various departments, said the report shows that affirmative action was only a small part of the job evaluation because every department head received a satisfactory rating.

“This sends the wrong message that even if you fail at affirmative action, you still get a raise,” Clayton said.

One of the managers who stands to receive the largest increase under Dixon’s plan is Edgar Hayes, the director of data processing, who has sued the county for alleged discrimination. Hayes, who is black, was recommended for a special 4% salary adjustment on top of a 6.5% merit increase that would boost his salary from $79,642 to $88,004.

Dixon’s salary, which is set by the supervisors, was not included in the recommendations.

PROPOSED RAISES FOR L.A. COUNTY EXECUTIVES

Present Salary Richard B. Dixon, Chief Administrative Officer $112,000 Robert Gates, Director of Health Services $99,144 DeWitt Clinton, County Counsel $89,964 Thomas Tidemanson, Director of Public Works $99,144 John Englund, County Forester and Fire Warden $91,035 Ed Tanaka, Director of Public Social Services $85,680 Roberto Quiroz, Director of Mental Health $82,472 Wilbur Littlefield, Public Defender $89,752 Sandra R. Tracey, Treasurer-Tax Collector $77,000 Ronald Kornblum, Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner $103,080 Frank Zolin, County Clerk/Executive Officer, Superior Court $89,720 Robert Chaffee, Director of Children’s Services $85,680 Barry Nidorf, Probation Officer $80,514 Ralph S. Cryder, Director of Parks and Recreation $80,791 Mark H. Bloodgood, Auditor-Controller $82,738 Edgar Hayes, Director of Data Processing $79,642 Ted L. Reed, Director, Beaches and Harbors $87,311 Charles Weissburd, Registrar-Recorder $79,044 David Lund, Exec. Director, Community Devel. Comm. $80,250 Robert Medina, Director, Community and Sr. Citizen Services $73,903 Norman Murdoch, Director of Planning $74,506 Larry Monteilh, Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors $71,736 Linda Crismond, County Librarian $70,434 Leon Spaugy, Agricultural Comm./Dir. Weights & Measures** -- Francis Ching, Director, Arboreta and Botanic Gardens $62,663 Earl Powell, Director, Museum of Art $62,587 Craig Black, Director, Museum of Natural History $62,587 Brian Berger, Director of Animal Care and Control $64,446 Shirley Goldinger, Director of Consumer Affairs $52,485 Robert Arias, Affirmative Action Compliance Officer $55,914 Director, Military and Veterans Affairs Vacant

% Proposed Proposed Increase New Salary Richard B. Dixon, Chief Administrative Officer * Robert Gates, Director of Health Services 8.5% $107,571 DeWitt Clinton, County Counsel 10.5% $99,410 Thomas Tidemanson, Director of Public Works 8.5% $107,571 John Englund, County Forester and Fire Warden 6.5% $96,952 Ed Tanaka, Director of Public Social Services 10.5% $94,676 Roberto Quiroz, Director of Mental Health 8.5% $89,482 Wilbur Littlefield, Public Defender 6.5% $95,586 Sandra R. Tracey, Treasurer-Tax Collector 8.5% $83,545 Ronald Kornblum, Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner 6.5% $109,780 Frank Zolin, County Clerk/Executive Officer, Superior Court 6.5% $95,552 Robert Chaffee, Director of Children’s Services 6.5% $91,249 Barry Nidorf, Probation Officer 10.5% $88,968 Ralph S. Cryder, Director of Parks and Recreation 10.5% $89,274 Mark H. Bloodgood, Auditor-Controller 8.5% $89,771 Edgar Hayes, Director of Data Processing 10.5% $88,004 Ted L. Reed, Director, Beaches and Harbors 6.5% $92,986 Charles Weissburd, Registrar-Recorder 8.5% $85,763 David Lund, Exec. Director, Community Devel. Comm. 6.5% $85,466 Robert Medina, Director, Community and Sr. Citizen Services 8.5% $80,185 Norman Murdoch, Director of Planning 6.5% $79,349 Larry Monteilh, Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors 10.5% $79,268 Linda Crismond, County Librarian 10.5% $77,830 Leon Spaugy, Agricultural Comm./Dir. Weights & Measures** -- $75,000 Francis Ching, Director, Arboreta and Botanic Gardens 6.5% $66,736 Earl Powell, Director, Museum of Art 6.5% $66,655 Craig Black, Director, Museum of Natural History 6.5% $66,655 Brian Berger, Director of Animal Care and Control 6.5% $68,635 Shirley Goldinger, Director of Consumer Affairs 6.5% $55,897 Robert Arias, Affirmative Action Compliance Officer 10.5% $61,785 Director, Military and Veterans Affairs

* Increase to be set separately by the Board of Supervisors.

** Replaces Paul Engler who recently retired. Salary effective April 1, 1988.