COUNTYWIDE : County Officials’ Benefits Criticized

Despite the county’s strapped budget, the Board of Supervisors and its 22 top managers receive employee benefits that read like a “Christmas wish list,” the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. contended Tuesday.

The watchdog group called on the supervisors to make public how much they and their executives receive in benefits for a more accurate picture of their total gross annual earnings.

“To say they are generous is an understatement,” Steve Barnard, president of the private association, said in a statement to the supervisors.

The county executives get six weeks of vacation and sick leave in the first year of employment, according to Jere Robings, executive director of the group. After 15 years of employment, that goes to nine weeks.

“That is more than liberal compared to private industry,” Robings told the supervisors. He said that at Southern California Edison, where he previously worked, it took 15 years of employment to earn six weeks of vacation.

The taxpayer group also complained that the county provides executives with an automobile allowance of $500 a month, in addition to mileage of 31 cents per mile. The Internal Revenue Service, in comparison, allows 26 cents per mile and no cash allowance.

In addition, the executives receive $210 biweekly for an assortment of benefit options that include health, dental and vision insurance. Meanwhile, rank-and-file employees get $123 to $190 biweekly for the flexible benefit program.

Supervisor John K. Flynn said the benefits were not overly generous. He said the county must offer salaries and benefits comparable to what is offered by private business and other government agencies to attract top employees.