County Supervisors’ OK of 25% Boost in Their Salaries

On Wednesday, July 26, 1989, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to grant themselves a salary increase which will provide for approximately a 25% raise in salary over the next 11 months. In addition, the board action would tie future salary increases to those received by Municipal Court judges.

As the president of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, I am very interested in salary increases approved for other groups of county employees. It is a rare case, indeed, when I view employees being granted a salary increase in excess of that received by deputy sheriffs as appropriate.

The salary increase for supervisors, however, is long overdue. And its amount, in my view, is insufficient. Over 300 members of the county work force receive salaries higher than the members of the Board of Supervisors. Not one of those employees faces a level of responsibility even approaching that shouldered by members of the board. The board members also put in far in excess of an eight-hour day or a 40-hour week. They certainly put in many more hours than any Municipal Court judge I’m acquainted with, and I’m acquainted with many of our Orange County jurists.

Comparing supervisors’ salaries to Board of Supervisors members in other California counties is also misleading. The office of supervisor is a part-time position in other than a very few of the major California counties.

The media tend to give the supervisors almost all the blame for not solving almost insoluble problems and very little credit for all the good things we enjoy in Orange County. We are fortunate to have the highly qualified, dedicated individuals who currently serve on the Board of Supervisors. They, and their predecessors, have long worked for a salary that did not begin to adequately compensate them for the requirements and demands of their office. They should be commended for biting the bullet and taking these needed steps to ensure that future members of the board will be compensated at a level more closely commensurate to their duties.

JERRY PIERSON

President

Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs