Irvine’s Largess to Employees Will Be Re-Evaluated

A committee that examined the pay and benefit levels of city employees has prompted the City Council to order a review of policies that make some Irvine employees the highest-paid city workers in the county.

In a report to the council at its meeting Tuesday, the committee of personnel managers from public and private sectors concluded that high salaries and competitive benefits “provide for a very generous compensation package for Irvine city employees.”

The council adopted a pay policy in 1985 that said that since Irvine “is not just an average community” and wants to attract above-average workers, employees should earn salaries in the top fourth of the average of their counterparts in other Orange County cities.

“As a result of this policy, salaries are high,” P. James Lofstrom, the committee’s chairman and a vice president at Allergan Inc., told the council.

For many jobs, Irvine pays at or near the top among Orange County cities, the committee reported. For instance, maximum salaries for police officers, word processors and computer programmers are the highest among city employees in the county.

Instead of using formulas or strict policies when setting pay levels, the city also should look at supply and demand, and granting pay hikes should be based more on performance than on across-the-board “entitlement” raises, Lofstrom said. Using those approaches, the city could save money and still end up with top-quality workers, he said.

The council formed the committee in July after discussing the city’s tight budget and deciding that employee pay and benefits should be examined to see if they are too generous.

The council agreed with Councilman William A. (Art) Bloomer’s suggestion to ask City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. to come up with a plan on how the committee’s recommendations could be carried out.

“I think the (committee’s) recommendations are all valid,” Bloomer said.

Brady said he will report to the council at its Nov. 12 meeting with ideas about how the city can implement the recommendations. Carrying out many of the recommendations will require the city to meet and discuss the changes with the Irvine Professional Employees Assn., which represents workers in three city employees’ unions.

“We’ve all received and reviewed the report . . . but we haven’t formulated an approach or action yet until we hear from Paul” Brady, IPEA board member Rick Sandzimier said Thursday. Union members will meet next week to discuss the report, and board members will not take any action until they hear from city employees and have a chance to review Brady’s recommendations, he said.

Among the committee’s other recommendations:

* Compare Irvine’s salaries to eight similar-size cities in Orange County and with selected private sector employers, and aim to pay workers in the top half of those averages.

* Review how supervisors evaluate employees for merit raises. Last year, 40% of the city’s employees were ranked at “exceeds objectives,” the highest performance rating.

* Limit vacation hours that management personnel can accumulate. Currently, the city sets no cap, allowing managers to build up vacation time that would have to be paid off in a lump sum when the employee leaves. The policy creates the potential for a “long-term financial liability,” the report said.

Number One Irvine’s city employees are among the best paid in the county. Several city positions have the highest pay schedule of any city in the county, including: * Word Processing Specialist II * Systems Analyst * Senior Public Safety Assistant * Programmer * Police Sergeant * Police Records Specialist II * Police Officer * Administrative Coordinator * Duplicating Technician II Source: City of Irvine