Attorneys Plan to Sue to Keep Extra Pay

Rather than repay money the county erroneously paid them, 27 Ventura County attorneys plan to file a legal challenge in the salary dispute, a representative said Thursday.

“This is totally unacceptable, and we are intending to file a lawsuit,” said Kevin G. DeNoce, vice president of the Deputy Dist. Attorneys Assn. “The county ought to treat its employees a lot better than this.”

The salary dispute centers on a total of $49,500 in pay raises given to 22 prosecutors and five public defenders during the past six months.

County Auditor-Controller Thomas Mahon said Thursday that the pay raises, granted by the county personnel office, violated a freeze on salaries and promotions imposed by the Board of Supervisors in July, 1993.

Mahon said the error was not the fault of the employees, and that the county is making every effort to resolve the issue peaceably.

Mahon said he will ask the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to approve a plan that would allow most of the attorneys to pay back the money they owe by exchanging unused vacation or sick leave for a cash payment.

“We have done this in the past in certain cases,” Mahon said. He added, however, that at least five of the attorneys would have to make cash payments because they had not accrued enough vacation time to replace the money owed.

But DeNoce said that the attorneys are entitled to the pay raises and would not comply.

In their lawsuit, he said, the lawyers plan to challenge the board’s decision to freeze salaries and promotions, a decision made without any input from employees.

Although he did not know when the lawsuit against the county would be filed, DeNoce said he would be writing a legal memorandum to the auditor-controller within the next week or two outlining the attorneys’ position.