Countywide : County Weighs Reinstituting Merit Raises for Managers

County officials said Thursday that they are considering a request by some managers to reinstitute a merit raise system that was frozen following the county’s 1994 bankruptcy.

The move comes two months after the county announced that it would spend more than $20 million to give its 14,000 union workers retroactive cost-of-living and merit pay raises that were delayed because of the financial crisis.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court found that the employees were entitled to the raises, which are scheduled to be paid in June.

Bob Wilson, the county’s assistant chief executive officer, said that merit raises for the county’s 1,000 nonunion managers would total “a lot less” than $20 million and could be covered without jeopardizing the county’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy by June 30.

“We will honor all legal obligations to our employees,” Wilson said. “We believe in treating them equitably.”

Attorney Theodore Albert, who represents about 190 county managers, said that he has held discussions with county attorneys for about two weeks.

“All managers feel very loyal to the county and are supportive of the county’s [bankruptcy recovery] plans,” Albert said. “They merely want to be heard on a point of fairness.”

Albert and Wilson said they hope to resolve the issue without resorting to a legal fight that could delay the county’s emergence from bankruptcy.