Amid Cuts, Hickey Gets 17% Pay Rise

With a pending $10-million budget cut posing a politically sensitive backdrop, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday granted a 16.9% pay raise to Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey, increasing his annual salary to $125,694.

Acting only hours before several hundred people appeared before the board to protest a Hickey proposal that will cut $7.5 million from county mental-health programs, the supervisors unanimously approved Hickey’s $18,179-a-year raise without discussion.

When questioned by reporters, both the supervisors and Hickey acknowledged that the timing of the raise probably could not be worse, coming, as it does, amid the controversial budget hearings that began last week.

“I appreciate that,” Board Chairman George Bailey said. “But this is the only time to do this. This is one of those bullets we have to bite.”

The raise, which takes effect July 1, restored Hickey to his position as the highest-paid local government official in San Diego, enabling him to pass other top administrators who received recent salary increases. In May, the San Diego City Council awarded City Manager John Lockwood a 9.6% raise that increased his salary to $116,196, and an 8.6% raise last spring raised San Diego city schools Supt. Tom Payzant’s annual wage to $110,919.

2 1/2 Years Without Raise

Hickey, meanwhile, pointed out that his annual salary had remained at $107,515 in the 2 1/2 years since he became the county’s top administrator in January, 1986. Besides his base salary, Hickey receives a $300 monthly automobile allowance.

“This probably isn’t a great time . . . but there never is a good time for an executive to get a pay increase,” Hickey said. “I don’t know why I have to defend this. I’ve gone 2 1/2 years without getting an extra dime. But I recognize that, when you’re the point man, you take the hit. So, I’ll take the hit.”

Pointing to his 38 years of public service, Hickey added: “After that amount of time, you say, ‘What do you have after those years? What is the job worth?’ But it’s the board’s decision. If they give the raise, that’s fine. I’ll take it. But if they don’t, that’s OK, too.”

A report prepared by County Counsel Lloyd Harmon noted that, since Hickey joined the county, other county management employees have received average salary increases of 11.3%. Last year, rank-and-file county workers received average annual pay increases of about 3.5%, according to Wyleen Luoma, general manager of the 11,000-member San Diego County Employees Assn.

“However, an increase limited to 11.3% would not, in my opinion, reflect the fact that the chief administrative officer has received no increase since January, 1986, (and) the outstanding job performance of Mr. Hickey and his contribution to an improved County of San Diego,” Harmon wrote.

List of Accomplishments

During his tenure, the supervisors have credited Hickey with, among other accomplishments, streamlining county government and enhancing its efficiency through a reorganization of several major departments. Building his own case, Hickey gave reporters a seven-page list of his accomplishments after the board’s action.

Lauding Hickey for saving the county “far, far, far in excess of whatever the raise was,” Supervisor Susan Golding emphasized that, when Hickey was hired, the supervisors promised to periodically review his salary.

“We made a commitment to him, and I have no apologies about keeping it,” Golding said. “To find any fault with this would be very short-sighted. Before Norm was hired, the county was wasting an enormous amount of money, there were constant scandals and we were under the threat of fines and sanctions from the state and federal governments. There’s been none of that since he’s been here. And, if this raise helps retain the kind of talents Norm has, it’s worth it many times over.”

In his report, Harmon stressed that the 16.9% raise that he recommended the supervisors award Hickey “is not out of line with salaries paid” to other chief administrative officers in other large California counties. Moreover, if Hickey had remained in his previous position as chief administrative officer of Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida, his salary would be $132,640, Harmon said.

“We’ve seen that (argument) used differently before,” county employee union head Luoma said.

Hickey’s own office has occasionally downplayed the significance of county-by-county wage comparisons cited by employee groups in their negotiations for higher salaries. Although county administrators acknowledge that San Diego must remain competitive with other counties to attract quality employees, they also often hasten to add that such comparisons overlook counties’ differing economic conditions.

Luoma questioned the supervisors’ decision to approve the raise at the same time they debate the $1.2-billion budget in which Hickey has recommended $10 million in cuts in vital county services ranging from mental health and child-abuse programs to crime-prevention plans and park closures.

“The timing is certainly not good,” Luoma said. “That is not to say that Norm Hickey hasn’t earned it. But, when major cuts are being looked at and groups are going to be struggling for every penny, there might have been a better way to handle this.”