Panel Urges Raises in Officials’ Base Pay : Government: Critics immediately denounce the citizens committee’s recommendations as too generous.

A citizens panel wrapped up a five-week review of Ventura County officials’ pay packages Thursday by recommending that the county fold three controversial perks into the salaries of the district attorney, the sheriff and four other elected leaders--proposed base increases of up to $24,000.

Under the panel’s plan, quickly denounced by critics as too generous, incoming Sheriff Larry Carpenter would receive a base salary of $122,612--up from $98,982--making his wage larger than that of the sheriffs of Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury would receive a base salary of $121,865--up from $106,600 and larger than the salaries paid to the Los Angeles County district attorney and almost all other district attorneys in Southern California. Only the district attorney of San Diego County would have a higher wage.

Despite the proposed changes, panelists estimated that the six elected officials’ total compensation packages--including remaining benefits--would stay about the same: between $106,000 and $142,000. The move, they said, would cost taxpayers no more than what they are paying already for the top officials’ pay packages.

The panel’s recommendations, up for consideration by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, came almost immediately under heated criticism from a county union representative and a member of the taxpayers group, who complained that the top officials will continue to be overpaid if supervisors adopt the proposal.

“This is a sham,” said Don Hollingsworth, a Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. member who attended all of the committee’s seven meetings. “The supervisors appointed this handpicked panel, and they just turn around and gave them the same amount of money.

“It just justifies what the county has been doing wrong all this time. As a taxpayer, I’m angry.”

Ken Maffei, president of the Ventura County Professional Firefighters Assn., agreed.

“It’s nothing that I didn’t expect,” he said. “They established the panel that they wanted and as a result the panel didn’t cut them. I hope the public can see through it.

“The fox was watching the henhouse.”

Supervisor John K. Flynn said he too is concerned about the panel recommendation. However, he said he wanted to give the group a chance to present its findings to the board.

“I want to study it further,” he said. “If it is going to be above all the other Southern California counties, then there may a problem.

“In the end, the board will have to tackle this issue. What compounds the problem is the fact we are in a recession and revenues are unpredictable.”

Despite the criticism, however, panel members said the proposed base salaries appear to be reasonable.

“I think a lot of people wish we would have cut salaries and punished (the elected officials),” said panel member Lindsay Nielson, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. “Their pay methods were terrible and done in a clandestine manner. But looking at the total compensation, it appeared to be fair.

“The jobs carry enormous responsibility. By and large, this is a very well managed county. The citizens get a lot of bang for the buck.”

Under the panel’s plan, incoming Auditor-Controller Thomas Mahon would receive a base salary of $110,486, up from the current wage of $91,910. Once retirement benefits and a $4,500 car allowance were included, his total compensation package would be set at $124,803 annually.

Assessor Jerry Sanford would receive $102,781, up from $87,490. His total compensation package would be $115,641. Clerk-Recorder Richard Dean would be paid $94,345, an increase from $79,274. His total compensation would be $106,458.

Treasurer-Tax Collector Hal Pittman would receive $95,594, up from $79,274. His total pay and benefits would be set at $110,180.

Overall, Carpenter would receive a total compensation package of $141,701 while Bradbury would get $139,173.

Pittman said he likes the proposal to cut the perks and raise the base pay.

“The simpler the better,” Pittman said. “I think overall it’s a good idea.”

Until September, when the supervisors reduced the financial benefits for the elected officials, the six leaders were earning total pay packages that ranged from $118,771 for Dean to $157,390 for retiring Sheriff John V. Gillespie.

The majority of the perks were adopted in the late 1980s as a way of better compensating county leaders without risking public criticism by openly increasing their base pay.

Until Sept. 28, the amount the county was paying in extra benefits had been withheld, with officials citing privacy rights of county leaders. But after articles in The Times triggered public criticism, the officials agreed to release the figures and voted a week later to form the citizens panel.

In addition to recommending changes in the pay of the six elected officials, the panel agreed Wednesday to recommend that the supervisors raise their pay to $64,543--an increase of $14,300--while cutting all the board members’ controversial perks.

Overall, three of the five supervisors would lose $2,000 to $9,000 in pay and benefits. Their total compensation would range from $74,000 to $87,000, if the board approves the panel’s recommendation. The move would save taxpayers about $13,000 annually.

“I feel pretty comfortable with what we’ve recommended,” said panelist Robert Quist, president and chief administrative officer of Los Robles Regional Medical Center. “From the information we have, the pay seems reasonable.”

Panelist Roger Myers, president of the Ventura County Bar Assn., added: “We wanted to send a message to the Board of Supervisors that while we want them to be compensated fairly, we want a method of compensation that is easy for the public to understand. I think we’ve accomplished that.”