Supervisors’ Raise Plan Irks County Employees

Despite a budget crisis, the County Board of Supervisors may give themselves and their management employees a 5% raise--a move that is rankling other county employees.

The supervisors will consider the salary boost Tuesday for at least 800 management-level employees and certain clerical personnel who deal with confidential employee matters.

The annual cost of the proposed increase is estimated at $2.4 million, said Edward McLean, assistant personnel director.

The proposed raise comes at a time when the county is so strapped for money that the supervisors recently voted to charge cities fees for booking people into jail, as well as to assess school districts and other agencies for the collection of property taxes.

Darcy Connolly, a family support officer for the district attorney’s office, said she will protest the increase Tuesday.

“I’m not upset simply because I’m a county employee and they are getting more than I am,” she said. “But as a citizen, we’ve heard nothing but that the county is broke. At a time when we’re cutting programs and charging fees, we can’t afford these pay increases.”

Connolly isn’t the only one who is upset. Barry Hammitt, executive director of the Public Employees Assn. of Ventura County, issued a flyer to county employees Friday urging them to attend the supervisors’ hearing Tuesday to protest the increase. The association represents about 6,373 non-management county employees, such as planners, clerks, secretaries and nurses.

Hammitt said the county is so strapped for money that laundry workers are being laid off. Yet, he said, it can afford to “throw away” money in salary increases on people who already make twice the average wage in the county.

Hammitt said employees in the association received a 2.5% increase last month and a 1.5% raise last March.

His flyer is illustrated with a cartoon depicting management as a cigar-smoking, briefcase-toting, fat pig. An employee is drawn as a little guy with a lunch pail and a giant screw in his back.

The biggest management increase--$5,886--would go to Richard Wittenberg, chief administrative officer of the county, who now earns $117,720 annually. The personnel director would get a $4,270 increase, and the director of health-care agencies would get $5,332, according to the flyer.

Asked if the raise is appropriate in a time of budget problems, Supervisor John K. Flynn said, “That’s a good question. I don’t know how I’ll vote.”

Supervisor Maggie Erickson, who hadn’t seen the raise proposal, said the county tries to treat management and employees the same.

The salaries of the supervisors, who now earn $47,844, would increase to $50,236 a year under the proposed raise. They are considered members of the management group. McLean said the average salary among the 800 workers is $47,514.

He said his department is proposing the salary increases to keep pace with increases awarded other county employees this year. The county approved a contract with the Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. last July granting a 5% increase. A similar increase was awarded to operating engineers last April.

Also, after a study of countywide clerical salaries, nearly 1,500 workers got increases averaging 7.43%, McLean said. In addition, he said the management employees haven’t received a cost-of-living increase since December, 1988.

McLean said the 5% increase is necessary so the county can recruit and retain top-level management employees.

“We need to remain competitive in the marketplace,” he said.