Supervisors Vote to Increase Their Pay 6.25% to $65,873

County supervisors voted Tuesday to give themselves pay raises for the second time this year, an action that will elevate their salaries to $65,873 in December from the $61,880 approved six months ago.

The supervisors approved raises of 6.25% for themselves and 22 department chiefs during the 1988-89 fiscal year, beginning July 1, despite expected shortfalls in the county budget that could lead to layoffs.

The vote was 4 to 0. Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder was out of town.

Officials said the across-the-board raises are needed to keep the salaries of executives competitive, and because similar percentage increases were won by the county’s general work force last fall.

“‘We have never handled budget shortfalls by not paying people what they are worth,” County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish said.

“If there are layoffs, including department heads, then so be it,” Parrish said. “But whoever is left will be paid fairly.”

Board members, who voted themselves a 5.16% pay increase in January, were then the highest paid supervisors in all of California’s 58 counties except for Los Angeles, where supervisors earned $84,764.

In contract negotiations last October, members of the largest county workers’ union, the Orange County Employees Assn., gained pay increases totaling 6.25% for this year, with 3.25% becoming effective July 1 and another 3% on Dec. 1.

The supervisors’ action Tuesday was criticized sharply by at least one union official, Ben Monterroso of Employees International Union Local 787, which represents 565 county workers.

“I do not believe it is right for them to give themselves this money when they are trying to reduce our personnel and overtime and cut services,” Monterroso said.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said the board members have fully earned the pay raises that will increase their base salary to $65,873 on Dec. 16.

“We work pretty hard and spend a lot of time here . . . ,” Riley said. “A lot of people who report to us make a great deal more money (than we do).”

The raises for the supervisors will be given in two increments--3.25% in September and another 3% in December.

The other 22 officials--all elected or appointed department heads--will receive the same percentage hikes, but they will become effective in July and December.

Parrish, the highest-paid official slated for a raise, will jump from a current $104,000 annually to $107,380 in July and to $110,500 in December.

Among other top county officials who will get raises are Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks, whose annual salary will go from $99,860 to $106,198 in December; County Counsel Adrian Kuyper, whose salary will climb from $97,968 to $104,184; Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates, whose pay will increase from $91,520 to $97,347; County Personnel Director Russ Patton, whose salary will rise from $80,002 to $85,096, and County Recorder Lee Branch, whose salary will increase from $60,892 to $64,764 in December.

Branch, an elected official, received no raise last year. In 1986, Branch was given a 2.5% salary increase in a year when six other elected officials received boosts of 7% to 11.4%.

County employees also received a 4% wage boost last December as part of the contract negotiated in October.

Patton said the salary proposals approved Tuesday were recommended by a panel of executives that included Parrish, himself and some of the supervisors.

Major considerations in determining the size of the increase were the county’s financial health and the size of increases won through collective bargaining by employee unions.

County officials are projecting a shortfall of as much as $44 million in a tentative budget that is $500 million higher than last year.

Officials have said that as many as 400 jobs may have to be eliminated to help make up the difference between expected expenditures and expected revenues.

Because of the budget situation, Patton said, the pay increases approved Tuesday were conservative and were applied equally to each of the executives. In past years, some executives have received larger increases than others.

In May, 1985, the Orange County Grand Jury recommended that the supervisors raise their salaries to $75,000 by 1991 in order to attract a broader range of candidates for the office.

SUPERVISORS SALARY INCREASES

Effective Annual % Increase Date Salary From Previous Dec. 16, 1988 $65,873 6.5 Jan. 6, 1988 $61,880 5.0 July 4, 1986 $58,906 7.1 Jan. 1, 1986 $55,000 11.7 July 5, 1985 $49,254 8.0 July 6, 1984 $45,612 7.5 Aug. 19, 1983 $42,432 --

Source: Orange County Personnel Department