Supervisors Raise Their Salaries 25%, Make Hasty Retreat

Orange County supervisors unanimously voted themselves a two-step 25% pay raise Wednesday without a word of comment despite complaints from about 25 county employees that the decision is “absurd” at a time when the government faces difficult financial times.

“We feel it is absurd that you--our elected representatives--are more interested in padding your personal income by freezing or cutting services to your constituency,” said Deloras Oravecz, who read from a letter while the other county employees stood in the audience, not wishing to identify themselves for fear of retribution.

“We know there are employees working without data equipment; we know there is no money for new projects, for street repairs and other important matters,” Oravecz said later.

The 5-0 supervisors’ vote, coming on the opening day of hearings on the county’s 1989 fiscal year budget, will immediately raise their salaries by 14.3% from $65,874 to $75,296. On July 1, 1990, the salaries will be automatically increased again to $82,054.

In the ordinance adopted Wednesday, the supervisors also ordered that, in the future, their salaries be automatically tied to increases in salaries for municipal judges.

Orange County’s supervisors already are the second-highest-paid in the state. With the increase, they will stay in second place behind Los Angeles, where supervisors receive $89,851. San Diego County supervisors rank third at $65,643.

After Wednesday’s meeting, some of the supervisors said they were not surprised by the complaints and noted that it is significant there was not more opposition.

“When there are 2.3 million people in the county, the percentage really was very small,” Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said. “There was very little opposition.”

Obviously sensitive about the vote, some of the supervisors walked so quickly out of the room as the meeting ended that Board Chairman Thomas F. Riley was left alone when he paused to gather his papers.

Riley showed the tension caused by the vote when he became irritated at a television reporter who approached the dais after the meeting. Riley told the reporter that she was in a restricted area and then walked from the room, passing her without acknowledging her request for an interview.

Riley said later that he regretted the speedy exit. “I thought I should have said something, but the rest of the supervisors were not expressing themselves and I thought, ‘Should I go ahead and open a big debate?’ So I didn’t,” he said.

Riley also justified the raise, saying, “I spend a lot of my own time and money promoting the culture of Orange County. The budget is balanced; we’re not firing people, and we’re not short of money at this time. We’ve responded to their concerns.”

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said of the raise: “I think what’s been accomplished is that we’ve established a standard for compensation” by connecting future raises to those of municipal judges.

Vasquez and Stanton also noted that the salary increases will be absorbed in the budgets for their offices, which was not increased over last year.

Supervisors Harriett M. Wieder and Don R. Roth were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Last week, when the supervisors gave preliminary approval to the pay raise, county finance officials were predicting a budget deficit of more than $25 million with a potential for layoffs if more money did not become available.

In an overview of the county budget presented by the County Administrative Offce on Wednesday, however, officials said the budget was balanced, if precariously. County department heads were asked to absorb about $13 million for 4.3% pay raises given to most county employees.

Some departments said they will be forced to implement hiring freezes, delay purchases and halt travel expenses.

County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish told the supervisors that if they want to change his proposed budget, “your board does have options, but they are grim options.”

To increase the budget for any department will require a cut somewhere else, Parrish said. Or, supervisors could dip into a so-called contingency account that is saved for emergencies or unexpected expenses.

Parrish and Auditor-Controller Steve Lewis said the contingency account--now at $15 million--is “minimal.” One of the major problems is that credit-rating agencies consider the account a sign of the government’s fiscal health. If they consider the county a higher credit risk, it will cost more to borrow money for construction projects.

Wednesday, the supervisors heard presentations from the General Services Agency, the Environmental Management Agency, and the County Administrative Office on budgets for administration of the auditor-controller’s and tax collector’s offices, among others. In straw votes, they took no action to alter the proposals.

Today, the supervisors are scheduled to hear from the Social Services Agency, Health Care Agency and Sheriff-Coroner’s Department.

On the pay raise, the supervisors justified their first vote on the issue last week by pointing to a grand jury study that concluded that they were underpaid, as well as to a recent survey’s finding that about 330 county employees were paid more than the supervisors.

“We’ve become fair game because of the pay raise,” Riley said. “But nobody mentions that there are 300 employees who get more money than each individual supervisor.”

Stanton added, “I think the fact that over 330 employees made more than the supervisors means that it was in line.”

The employees called their effort a last-minute grass-roots protest. After the meeting, Wendy Shults, an accounting clerk, described the pay raise as “ridiculous.” She said many county employees were upset with the supervisors, but most did not want to protest publicly because they fear reprisal.

“We’re not saying the supervisors don’t deserve a raise, but a 25% one is a bit too much when the county employees are told that there is little money in the budget,” Shults said.

Three supervisorial seats will be on the ballot next year and Roth and Wieder have announced they will seek reelection. Riley is scheduled to announce his intention today.

Ruth Ann Sierk, another employee, said, “We’re mad enough that this (the pay raise) might become a big issue in the race.”

Supervisor Salaries Here are the six California counties where supervisors are paid the most.

County Salary Los Angeles $89,851 Orange (next year) 82,054 (this year) 75,296 (last year) 65,874 San Diego 65,643 Santa Clara 61,927 San Bernardino 54,190 Kern 52,483

Source: County and U.S. Census figures