DANA POINT : Freeze on Merit Pay Raises Lifted
A freeze in merit pay raises that was imposed because of the county’s bond crisis has been lifted after a split vote by the City Council.
City employees will divide $32,000 in pay increases retroactive to last September. Disbursement of the salary hikes will be handled by City Manager Stephen B. Julian.
The extra pay was approved 3 to 2 last week, with council members William L. Ossenmacher and Toni Gallagher voting to continue the salary freeze.
Councilman Harold R. Kaufman had asked that the council’s $24,000 collective annual salary be frozen too. Other council members dismissed his motion as political grandstanding and declined to eliminate their pay.
“It wasn’t grandstanding on my part,” Kaufman said. “I feel strongly that we should be fair and it isn’t fair to balance the Orange County (investment) pool crisis on the backs of our staff.
“If we were willing to ask staff to give up merit increases, we should be willing to give up our $24,000 in salary,” he said. “If we couldn’t do that, I didn’t want to penalize the staff.”
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