Officials to Share $288,673 to Retire Early : Golden handshakes: Critics are angered by the amount the county will pay the departing sheriff and auditor-controller.

Ventura County Sheriff John V. Gillespie and Auditor-Controller Norman R. Hawkes will receive a combined total of $288,673 to retire early under the county’s “golden handshake” program, according to a county report released Wednesday.

Under the program, Gillespie, 52, will receive a lump-sum payment of $47,834 when he retires next month and an additional $125,455 added into his pension plan, officials said. Hawkes, 58, will receive $31,826 when he leaves next month and an additional $83,558 calculated into his retirement.

Hawkes and Gillespie will also receive six months severance pay--totaling $147,000 for both--as a special perk offered to elected officials who have more than 10 years service with the county.

The cost of allowing the two ranking officials to take the golden handshake is expected to be offset by either freezing or eliminating several positions in their departments, county officials said.

However, critics blasted the program as a misuse of public funds, saying the county should not offer golden handshakes to elected officials who serve at the will of the voters.

The report is expected to be reviewed by county supervisors at their meeting Tuesday.

Under the county program, employees who are eligible for retirement receive two years of service credit toward their pension and have the option of receiving a third year of credit or a lump-sum payment. Even though Hawkes and Gillespie have only two years left on their terms, they were compensated for three years.

“I know I’m just a poor old taxpayer, but I think this is ridiculous,” said Don Hollingsworth, a member of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

H. Jere Robings, executive director of the association, added: “I wonder when the county is going to get the message that people are upset with this whole system.”

In August, the Board of Supervisors agreed to offer golden handshakes in an attempt to offset sharp cuts in state funding. A similar program was offered last spring.

According to the report, 38 people are expected to take early retirement--at a cost to the county of $1.4 million. The county expects to eliminate nearly 45 positions through retirement and attrition, for a savings of nearly $2.3 million, the report said. Overall, the program is expected to save the county about $930,276 for the 1992-93 fiscal year.

Since September, when the county disclosed that top officials were receiving large perks on top of their base salaries, county leaders have been sharply criticized by members of the taxpayers association.

In the wake of the controversy, the supervisors reduced one of the costliest benefits--called “in-lieu of vacation pay”--and eliminated the perk that provides six months severance pay. A citizens panel is now studying the compensation packages of the elected officials and chief administrative officer to consider further revisions.

Robings said the early retirement program has just exacerbated his group’s frustration with the county.

“It’s nonsense,” he said.

Treasurer-Tax Collector Hal Pittman, who oversees retirement matters for the county, said he can understand why people are concerned about the decision to offer golden handshakes to the two elected leaders.

“There is a public perception that it is wrong,” Pittman said. “Because of that, I don’t think I would be in favor of offering it in the future. In these times, the public officials don’t need any more flack.”

He also said the county should have considered offering two-year retirement credits instead of three years.

“I’m not sure that there is a need for it,” Pittman. “Two years will work.”

However, he said he supports offering golden handshakes to hired employees.

“I think it is very good methodology for certain circumstances,” Pittman said. “It’s a perfect management tool, not only to save money but also to reorganize a department.”

Despite the criticism, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Robert Hirtensteiner said he believes the three-year early-retirement program is the best way to go.

“It would have been much more costly if they would have stayed three more years,” he said.