Raises Planned for County Managers : Pay: Memo from administrative officer outlines increases proposed for executives.

For the first time in three years, the Board of Supervisors is planning to give pay raises to county department heads and managers, according to a memo from the county administrative officer.

Some 800 administrative managers will receive 2.5% pay increases, while another 85 executive managers could receive performance-based increases up to that amount under a proposal tentatively approved by the board in closed session last week.

The county’s 22 appointed department heads, such as the tax collector, county probation officer, airport director and county administrative officer, also will receive merit increases, but no percentage limit has been set.

State law prohibits the board from discussing pay raises for the county’s seven elected department heads. A personnel committee will review their performances and make recommendations to the board when the pay package is submitted for the supervisors’ approval in mid-October. The elected department heads are: the sheriff, treasurer-tax collector, auditor, assessor, district attorney, county clerk-recorder and public administrator.

The memo, which was dated Aug. 31 and drafted by County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider and Human Resources Director Russ Patton, does not address any salary increases for the supervisors. Currently, supervisors earn $82,056 a year in salary, plus another $15,000 in extra pay and benefits.

Some of the other top county salaries include: County Administrative Officer Schneider at $135,512, Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi at $121,368, Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Maury Evans at $118,996 and Superior Court Executive Officer Alan Slater at $117,315.

Patton said Wednesday that most department heads and managers have not received pay raises since mid-1991. That same year, county supervisors withdrew their own pay raise after strong public criticism.

The proposed salary increase is in step with raises of 2.5% to 3.5% increases for about 10,000 county employees. The county employee raises are included in the 1994-95 proposed budget, which is expected to be adopted later this month.

County officials said the management pay freeze has made it increasingly difficult to attract and keep top managers.

“It’s reaching that point,” Patton said.

He said the current county managers realize that the county has been strained financially. Because of the salary freeze, he said, “it would be management’s expectation to received some recognition for doing, I think, an outstanding job.”

Board Chairman Thomas F. Riley said he is supportive of the management raises.

“I believe very sincerely they’ve more than earned them,” Riley said. “I don’t know how long you can keep asking people to give their very best without compensating them.”

Riley said the issue of supervisor raises may be addressed at another time.

“We have to do ours in public hearing,” he said. “I would be supportive of (raises), but we haven’t talked about it yet.”

Not everyone, however, thinks that county managers should get a boost in pay.

“I think the entire government work force is grossly overpaid,” said Shirley L. Grindle, a county taxpayer activist. “It just astounds me that civil service employees are trying to catch up to the private sector. If you ask me, they’ve caught up a long time ago and are well past the private sector.”