Judges Delay Decision on Official’s Raise : Courts: After a closed-door meeting, they say they need more data before granting a 24% pay hike to their executive officer.

Ventura County Superior Court judges backed away from a proposed $23,000 annual raise for court executive officer Sheila Gonzalez on Tuesday, saying they need more information before approving any pay increase.

At a private meeting Tuesday, the judges agreed not to grant the 24% raise until they have more details about what court executives in like-sized California counties are paid, Superior Court Judge James M. McNally said.

“The consensus was that the matter be deferred until such time as further data can be gathered,” McNally said. “No action will be taken to implement the raise until the judges have been given a chance to get further data.”

The decision comes after widespread criticism of the judges for proposing the increase at a time when the county is considering tax increases and employee layoffs. The action derails a May 4 plan by a majority of Superior and Municipal court judges to increase Gonzalez’s yearly salary to $120,000. She currently makes $97,000.

State code stipulates that the court executive officer’s salary be fixed by Superior and Municipal court judges and paid from the county general fund. Judges from both courts must agree on a court executive’s compensation package before it can be amended.

“I’m satisfied that (Gonzalez’s raise) is not going to go anywhere until further deliberation by the court,” McNally said.

But other judges said discussions are “ongoing” and that it was premature to completely rule out a pay raise for the court executive officer.

“We’re continuing to work on the whole process,” said Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Melinda A. Johnson, declining to elaborate. “In my mind, we had a private conversation that was intended to be private.”

Several Municipal Court judges refused to discuss Tuesday’s action by their Superior Court counterparts. Gonzalez, who already is paid nearly as much as Superior Court judges, has not received a salary increase in four years.

A number of county officials--including Supervisors Maria VanderKolk and John K. Flynn--criticized the proposed pay raise in light of a budget deficit that could top $60 million and eliminate more than 400 jobs.

Flynn, who had threatened to try to cut the court budget by $23,000 if the raise had been implemented, praised the Superior Court judges’ action.

“They did a prudent thing by canceling it, if that’s what they did,” he said. “Economic conditions just don’t allow that kind of raise. Even if economic conditions were not as bad as they are today, that’s quite a sizable raise by any standard.

“Judges are known for their wisdom, and I think they used some in this instance,” Flynn said.

A Newbury Park anti-tax crusader welcomed the move--with one caveat.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Alan Guggenheim of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers. “I just hope they aren’t going to spend $100,000 to make a study about comparative pay in other counties.”

Most officials agree that Gonzalez has done an admirable job as court executive officer over the past six years. She has been credited with implementing a computerized case-filing system, diligently collecting court fees and setting up closed-circuit television arraignments.

“It’s not about Sheila Gonzalez,” McNally said. “It’s about tight budgets and careful analysis of evidence and making the right decision on the use of public funds.”

Gonzalez, who supervises the daily operations of both the Superior and Municipal courts, has remained silent on the issue since reports of the proposed salary increase surfaced. She declined to comment again Tuesday.

After the May 4 meeting, several judges said they feared that without the pay increase, Gonzalez would resign from her post in favor of a more lucrative position elsewhere. Superior Court Presiding Judge Steven Z. Perren insisted at the time that Gonzalez had not solicited the extra money.

They cited a recent advertisement for an executive officer for Los Angeles Superior Court. But that position was filled Friday when judges there elected Edward M. Kritzman to the job.