2 Supervisors Seek a Quick Vote on Perks : Government: Maria VanderKolk and John Flynn want the salary dispute resolved. But a plan to cut extras and raise officials’ base pay has drawn criticism.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors should act this week to resolve a four-month controversy over the pay of top county officials, two supervisors are urging.

The board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to cut all the large perks paid to the county’s 11 elected officials while increasing the leaders’ base salaries--a move that is coming under attack by union leaders and members of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

The recommendation, made by a citizens’ pay review panel last week, has been greeted by some county officials as a way for the five supervisors to put the salary issue behind them and move on to other county business.

Calling for a speedy decision were Supervisors Maria E. VanderKolk and John K. Flynn.

“We have had to learn a lot of hard lessons from this,” VanderKolk said. “There is a desire to solve the problem and go on from here. I can’t speak for the other board members, but I’ll support the recommendation. . . . It’s equitable.”

While VanderKolk indicated her support for the panel’s proposal, Flynn did not say whether he would vote for it. Both Flynn and VanderKolk have lined up in favor of cutting the perks for county leaders in one way or another, as has Supervisor Vicky Howard.

“Right now my main concern is to get this behind us,” Flynn said. “We are the elected ones--the spotlight is on us. I want to get this out of the way--it’s a killer.”

Supervisors Maggie Kildee and Susan K. Lacey have maintained a public silence after the county’s disclosure in September that top officials received more than $270,000 on top of their regular salaries last year in vacation, longevity and education benefits and thousands of dollars more in other financial perks.

Panelists say, however, that they believe the supervisors will have to accept the panel’s recommendations because of the possible political ramifications.

“They asked for this input,” said committee member Lindsay Nielson, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. “If they ignore it, they would just create more problems for themselves. It would mean they would go on with business as usual.”

Some of cuts have already taken place.

In the wake of public criticism after disclosure of the perks in The Times, the supervisors voted Sept. 15 to reduce a controversial benefit called “in-lieu-of vacation pay” by more than 50%--cutting the compensation packages for the leading officials by more than a total $113,000.

The supervisors then decided to form the nine-member citizens committee to see if more reform was needed.

Under the committee’s recommendation, the supervisors’ salaries would be increased by $14,300--to $64,543--while all the controversial perks would be eliminated.

If the supervisors adopt the suggestions, Kildee, Flynn and Lacey would receive total compensation reductions ranging from $3,000 to $10,000, according to figures released by the county last week.

In addition, Howard would get a pay increase of $4,496, and VanderKolk would get a raise of $1,563 if the supervisors accept the proposal. Their total compensation packages would range from $74,000 for Howard to $87,000 for Kildee, according to the plan.

The committee also is recommending that the county fold the three largest perks into the base salaries of the sheriff, district attorney and four other elected officials, resulting in a base pay increase of up to $24,000.

But the compensation packages of these six elected officials would be reduced by about $1,500 each if the supervisors agree to the panel’s proposal to cut the executives’ annual auto allowances from $6,000 to $4,500. Their total compensation would range from $106,000 for Clerk-Recorder Richard D. Dean to $142,000 for incoming Sheriff Larry Carpenter.

Overall, the county would save about $20,000 annually if it accepts the panel’s proposal to cut the perks for the supervisors and other elected officials and adjust their salaries upward, according to county figures.

But some critics are suggesting that the supervisors simply reject those recommendations and slash all the perks without raising base pay.

“They shouldn’t be rewarded for what they have been pulling off for years,” said Don Hollingsworth, a member of the taxpayers association. Ken Maffei, president of the Ventura County Professional Firefighters Assn., said that in the wake of the county’s budget woes, giving top officials an increase in base pay would be difficult for some county workers to accept.

“It’s pretty difficult to justify in light of the fact they are talking about laying off firefighters and closing stations,” Maffei said. “But I never expected them to take a cut.”

Critics also have blasted the panel itself--which included a judge, an attorney, two bank presidents, a hospital administrator, several businessmen and the president of the taxpayers’ group.

“When you have all white males over the age of 40 who are all successful on the same panel, what do you expect?” Maffei said. “(They) take care of each other.”

Hollingsworth said he believed that the majority of the panelists had a conflict of interest because they do business with the county. He pointed to Nielson, who is the leading attorney on the proposed Farmont Golf Club near Ojai, as an example. Nielson is expected to appear before the county’s Planning Commission this week to represent Farmont.

“These people, they’re unreal,” Hollingsworth said.

But VanderKolk said she has confidence in the pay panel and the decision it reached.

“Some of these people are going to be critical no matter what happens,” she said. “I think that what the board is recommending has been substantiated by looking at a lot of different figures from around the state.

“Some people feel like there should be major cuts here, but I feel that we have a good recommendation from the committee. This is really the best we are going to be able to do.”

If the supervisors adopt the panel’s proposal, VanderKolk said, they will then need to decide whether to use the committee’s recommendations as a basis to restructure the pay of appointed department heads.

The panel did not have time to study the pay of the top hired officials. But it did recommend that the supervisors also reduce 13 appointed officials’ car allowances from $6,000 to $4,500, making the stipends more in line with car allowances in other counties. The cut would save the county an additional $19,500.

The committee also suggested that the supervisors consider reducing the vacation packages of the top hired executives. The panel agreed that the county’s practice of offering up to nine weeks of vacation and sick time each year is excessive.

Under the panel’s recommendation, the supervisors’ salaries would be tied to those of Superior Court judges, whose salaries are set by the state. The group is suggesting that supervisors receive 65% of what a judge makes.

The suggestion appeals to VanderKolk and Flynn because it relieves the supervisors of the burden of setting their own salaries.

“In the long run, I’m glad we formed the committee,” VanderKolk said. “It provides us with some substantiation for decisions that we need to make.

“There will probably be a few weeks of contention. But hopefully after that we can move on from this.”

Compensation Packages for Ventura County Elected Officials

Current Proposed Base Base 1991 Total Salary Salary Compensation Supervisor John K. Flynn $50,232 $64,543 $91,490 Supervisor Vicky Howard $50,232 $64,543 $64,792 Supervisor Maggie Kildee $50,232 $64,543 $97,860 Supervisor Susan Lacey $50,232 $64,543 $85,769 Supervisor Maria VanderKolk $50,232 $64,543 $73,766 Incoming Sheriff $98,982 $122,621 N/A Larry Carpenter District Attorney $106,600 $121,865 $154,989 Michael D. Bradbury Treasurer-Tax Collector $79,274 $95,594 $120,010 Hal Pittman Clerk-Recorder $79,274 $94,345 $118,771 Richard D. Dean Incoming Auditor-Controller $91,910 $110,486 N/A Thomas O. Mahon Assessor Jerry Sanford $87,490 $102,781 $ 128,623

Current* Proposed Total Total Compensation Compensation Difference Supervisor John K. Flynn $84,701 $74,994 $9,707- Supervisor Vicky Howard $69,378 $73,874 $4,496+ Supervisor Maggie Kildee $90,432 $86,561 $3,871- Supervisor Susan Lacey $78,912 $75,513 $3,399- Supervisor Maria VanderKolk $78,748 $80,311 $1,563+ Incoming Sheriff $143,202 $141,701 $1,501- Larry Carpenter District Attorney $140,673 $139,173 $1,500- Michael D. Bradbury Treasurer-Tax Collector $111,680 $110,180 $1,500- Hal Pittman Clerk-Recorder $107,959 $106,458 $1,501- Richard D. Dean Incoming Auditor-Controller $126,303 $124,803 $1,500- Thomas O. Mahon Assessor Jerry Sanford $117,141 $115,641 $1,500-

* As adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 15