Benefits Balloon Pay for Many County Staff

Cashing in on millions of dollars in overtime pay and other financial benefits, 327 Ventura County managers and employees earned more than $80,000 each last year, some of them more than doubling their base salary, a survey by The Times has found.

The largest number of highly paid workers was concentrated in the fire and sheriff’s departments--which combined spent $15 million on overtime in 1995--as well as the county counsel, public defender and district attorney’s offices.

One county firefighter making a base salary of $41,582 more than doubled his income to $96,689, records show. In the Sheriff’s Department, one sergeant wound up with a gross income of $114,906 and another deputy earned $101,717 by piling up huge overtime payments.

In addition to the rank and file, dozens of county managers in these and other departments greatly boosted their incomes with the help of a wide range of special bonuses and financial perks, the survey found.

“If we keep this up, we’re going to bankrupt the county,” said one official, who asked not to be identified. “This is not Chrysler Corp. or GM, this is all taxpayer-funded.”

County officials defended the overtime pay and cash benefits, pointing out that it represents only a small number of the county’s roughly 7,000 workers who are at the high end of the pay scale.

Also, it is still cheaper for the county to pay overtime to fire and sheriff’s personnel than to take on additional employees, who drive up costs through benefit packages and retirement pay, officials said.

“As foolish as it may seem, it’s better for the county to pay overtime than to hire more people,” said Auditor-Controller Thomas Mahon, who compiled the county payroll data at The Times’ request.

The survey found the following:

* Four county fire officials made more money last year--mostly through overtime--than Fire Chief James Sewell, whose gross income was $101,537.

* In addition to the firefighter who doubled his pay, four sheriff’s deputies made more than double their base salaries--which range from $41,582 to $48,725--with overtime.

* Another 61 fire personnel and 31 sheriff’s deputies made the equivalent of at least half of their base salaries in overtime.

* And dozens of county managers and employees enjoy a rich package of fringe benefits that can, in some cases, add $20,000 or more a year to their regular incomes.

Officials defended these benefits, which include such items as lump-sum vacation payments, longevity bonuses, car allowance, educational incentive pay, excess insurance compensation and bilingual pay.

The main reason for offering such benefits is to attract and retain highly qualified employees, said Ronald Komers, county personnel director. Also, some bonuses are used as incentives for employees to improve their professional skills, work odd shifts or perform special tasks, he said.

“It’s cheaper to give bonuses than to increase salary,” Komers said.

*

The Times’ survey found that 103 of the 450-employee county Fire Department earned more than $80,000 last year, the largest number of highly paid employees in any department.

Nearly all of these workers received between $10,000 and $50,000 in overtime pay, records show. Sixty-one fire personnel made more than half of their annual base salaries--which range from $41,582 to $68,562--in overtime and other cash benefits.

Battalion Chief Stanley Raap, whose base salary is $68,562, was the highest-paid employee in the department last year. His total gross income: $113,403.

Raap was surprised to learn that he made more money than his boss. He said most of his extra income came from overtime, which included seven days of extra duty during the La Conchita mudslide, a three-day assignment in San Luis Obispo County and the filling of some job vacancies.

“Last year was a little unusual for me,” said Raap, who has been with the department since 1962.

Although Raap was the department’s highest-paid employee, he did not receive the most overtime. That distinction went to Firefighter Daniel Rodriguez.

Records show that Rodriguez, whose base salary is $41,582, earned a total of $96,669 last year. He could not be reached for comment.

*

Fire Chief Sewell said he was not surprised that some personnel are making $40,000 and $50,000 in overtime pay.

“Overtime opportunities are a fact of life in fire service because of the staffing needs,” said Sewell, who as chief does not receive overtime.

The department requires that there be three people on duty at all times at 31 stations scattered around the county, the chief said. If someone is out sick or on vacation, then a replacement must be called in.

“We can’t operate a firetruck with less than three people on it,” Sewell said. “It’s not safe.”

Last year, the department, which came under sharp criticism three years ago for excessive overtime, spent $8.5 million on overtime pay out of a nearly $50-million budget.

Some of that is attributed to the extra work required by the heavy flooding in early 1995 and the La Conchita mudslide, with the remainder going to fill vacancies and employees on vacation and sick leave, Sewell said.

Still, the chief said his department recently adopted policies to help reduce overtime, which he expects will drop to about $6.7 million overall this year.

Sewell said he also plans to review the salaries of some fire personnel “to make sure there’s nothing fishy going on.”

In the Sheriff’s Department, 81 employees in the 1,203-member work force made more than $80,000 last year, mostly through overtime.

*

Records show that 31 deputies and senior deputies made more than half their regular salaries--which range from $45,315 to $65,973--in overtime pay.

Of those, three senior deputies more than doubled their base salaries of $48,725, raking in more money than some prosecutors and Municipal Court judges.

A fourth department employee, Deputy Barry Davis, whose base salary is $45,316, received a gross income of $101,717, records show. In comparison, Sheriff Larry Carpenter, who does not receive overtime, earned a total of $124,329 in 1995.

Davis could not be reached for comment.

But like fire officials, Carpenter said it is not unusual for a public-safety agency to have a significant amount of overtime, especially when covering disasters such as the La Conchita mudslide.

“Any emergency-services department, whether it’s fire or law enforcement, runs on a substantial amount of overtime simply by the nature of the work,” Carpenter said.

Last year, the Sheriff’s Department spent $6.5 million on overtime out of a $100.3-million budget.

In addition to extra duty required because of heavy flooding in the county, Carpenter said a larger portion of the overtime went to cover for vacancies in his department. For instance, he said, it was necessary to staff the Todd Road Jail--which opened in March 1995--with existing personnel until new recruits could be hired and trained.

With many of those vacancies now filled, Carpenter said he expects the amount of money spent on overtime to go down this year. He said he has also informed employees that the department will be tightening up on overtime.

“I’ve issued newsletters and I’ve told the Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., ‘Don’t start living on your overtime, don’t make your house payments with it,’ because it can be exorbitant,” Carpenter said. “We’ve already started to see a decrease.”

*

Meanwhile, in the district attorney’s office, 39 out of 494 employees made more than $80,000 last year, records show.

Of those, 31 attorneys, senior attorneys and supervisors--whose base salaries ranged from $69,472 to $96,096--each made between $6,000 and $25,000 in extra income, mostly from vacation buybacks, longevity and other cash benefits. Attorneys do not receive overtime pay.

In comparison, 13 attorneys and supervisors in the county counsel’s office and 18 in the public defenders office earned more than $80,000, with each receiving between $6,000 and $30,000 in extra income, records show.

But pay and fringe benefits are richest at the upper echelon of the county’s work force.

For instance, records show that Public Works Director Arthur Goulet, whose base salary is $106,626, earned a total compensation of $144,823 last year; Health Care Agency Director Pierre Durand, whose base salary is $112,008, earned $142,317, and County Counsel James McBride, whose base salary is $106,626, earned $136,529.

To be sure, generous pay for public officials is not confined to Ventura County. Similar income surveys found that more than 1,200 Los Angeles County employees made more than $100,000 annually, while the same was true for at least 200 workers in Orange County. Of the 327 Ventura County employees earning $80,000 or more, 56 had an annual income topping $100,000.

Compensation for Ventura County leaders was a hot issue in 1992, when The Times reported on numerous cash benefits and perks received by the county’s top elected officials and chief administrative officer.

As a result, many perks were abolished for elected officials and their base salaries increased to more accurately reflect their true compensation. But those reforms did not apply to dozens of non-elected county managers who still receive the type of cash fringe benefits that were taken away from public officials.

*

With the county facing a projected $19-million deficit this year and with the possibility of layoffs, reduced services and the closing of libraries, the pay structure for all remaining county managers and employees remains a concern among some officials.

“What has happened is that the benefits have grown over the years,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo, who along with his four colleagues on the board earned less than $80,000 last year. “We need to re-look at that.”

It used to be that people were attracted to government jobs for security; now it is for security and high pay, Schillo said.

“In today’s world, we need a reality check,” the supervisor said. “People in private businesses are cutting out middle management and the number of employees overall. Government is the only one not doing that.”

One major source of extra income for veteran county managers is accumulated vacation pay and longevity bonuses--a cash or annual leave credit based on years of service.

Under a complex formula, a manager with at least 10 years experience automatically earns 25 hours of vacation time every month, which works out to about 300 hours a year or about 7 1/2 weeks worth of paid time off.

Also, that same manager will earn eight additional hours of longevity credit for every year worked, which in the case of a 10-year employee would amount to 80 hours.

This individual then has the option of cashing in up to 304 hours of vacation and longevity hours in any given year or accruing the credits for a future payment.

In addition to vacation and longevity pay, financial perks include educational incentive pay, car allowances and excess insurance compensation.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of these cash benefits was former chief administrative officer Richard Wittenberg, who resigned in January 1995 after 16 years to take a similar job in Santa Clara County. Upon his departure, Wittenberg collected a check for $98,000 for unused vacation time and longevity bonuses.

And things are about to get even better for 710 county managers and unrepresented clerical employees. The Board of Supervisors earlier this year approved a 3% cost-of-living raise for this group that will take effect June 2. The raise, the first in six years for some managers, will cost the county an extra $614,000 a year.

*

In addition, 426 of the upper-level managers in this group will receive another 5% raise next March as part of the approved pay package.

Also, supervisors agreed to fold longevity bonuses into the base salaries of all county managers effective July 1, Komers said. Under a formula based on years of service, a manager with 13 years or more experience would see a maximum 7.5% increase in base salary.

This means that a veteran manager making an annual base salary of $50,000 will now receive $55,250--factoring in both the 3% cost-of-living raise and a 7.5% longevity bonus.

But Komers said the longevity pay should not be considered a raise because managers are already receiving the money.

He said the main reason for including the longevity pay in salaries was to make the county more competitive in its recruiting efforts. He said a similar action was done with the salaries of elected officials in 1992.

“It just gives a better indication of what people are really paid,” Komers said.

But including longevity pay in base salaries means that the county will have to pay an additional $1 million to $1.2 million a year for retirement costs, Komers said. The reason is that the county calculates retirement benefits based on the salary that an employee was earning at the end of his or her service.

Schillo, who operates his own financial consulting business, said it was mainly for this reason that he voted against the pay package. His was the only dissenting vote.

“I voted against it because of the impact on the retirement system,” Schillo said, adding that he believes the additional retirement liability to the county will be several million dollars more than what county staff members project.

*

The supervisor said he also believes that the managers’ pay raises should have been postponed until after the county adopted its annual budget last July. That way the county would have a better idea of its financial condition, he said.

“I think the pay increases were given too soon,” he said. “It should have been done after we had done the budget cuts. Now it’s increased the cuts we have to make.”

Meanwhile, some county prosecutors--who also receive longevity bonuses--are upset that their extra compensation is not being included in their base salaries too, because they are not classified as managers.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin De- Noce, a member of the Deputy District Attorneys Assn., said county officials recently approved giving its 90 members a 3% cost-of-living raise without the special longevity provision reserved for managers.

DeNoce said prosecutors, whose annual base pay ranges from $69,472 to $79,462, are also upset that they do not receive the same pay as attorneys in the county counsel’s office, most of whom receive a salary of $83,122.

Attorneys in the county counsel’s office defend the county against civil lawsuits, while prosecutors handle criminal cases.

“We believe we should have parity with county counsel,” De- Noce said. “We’re fed up.”

He said prosecutors plan to stage a demonstration in the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room at noon Tuesday to protest the perceived inequities in their pay package.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Incomes of Top County Officials

A total of 77 top county department heads and managers * earned more than $80,000 in salary and cash benefits in 1995. Money earned above base salary comes from a wide range of sources, such as vacation buybacks, longevity, educational incentive pay, excess insurance compensation and car allowance. Some money was deferred, such as 401(k) contributions. Here is a sampling of incomes:

*--*

Base Gross salary income Robert Hirtensteiner **, former assistant chief administrator $96,876 $215,010 Arthur Goulet, public works director $106,626 $144,823 Pierre Durand, health care director $112,008 $142,317 Sheila Gonzalez, court executive officer $109,000 $136,529 James McBride, county counsel $106,626 $136,073 Ronald O’Halloran, medical examiner $125,502 $131,483 James Isom, social services director $94,224 $128,542 Frank Woodson, corrections services director $89,700 $127,981 Michael Bradbury, district attorney $121,864 $125,875 Larry Carpenter, sheriff $122,621 $124,329 Kenneth Clayman, public defender $99,008 $123,512 Peter Pedroff, general services director $89,700 $121,891 Thomas Mahon, auditor-controller $110,485 $120,781 George Mathews, information services director Richard Wittenberg ***, former chief adminstrator $123,630 $117,571 Thomas Berg, resource management director Ronald Komers, personnel director $89,700 $115,003 Philip Schofield, director employee health services $96,096 $114,280 Glen Grey, assessor $102,780 $113,115 Dr. Gary Feldman, health officer $105,898 $106,665 Dixie Adeniran, library services director $79,274 $103,633 James Sewell, fire chief $96,590 $101,839 Harold Pittman, treasurer-tax collector $95,593 $101,562 Randall Feltman, mental health director $85,150 $99,854 Richard Dean, county clerk $94,344 $99,344 Richard Baldwin, air pollution control director $77,324 $98,383 Earl McPhail, agricultural commissioner $66,950 $90,034 Kay Martin, solid waste management director $68,562 $80,599

% above base Robert Hirtensteiner **, former assistant chief administrator 121% Arthur Goulet, public works director 35% Pierre Durand, health care director 27% Sheila Gonzalez, court executive officer 25% James McBride, county counsel 27% Ronald O’Halloran, medical examiner 4% James Isom, social services director 36% Frank Woodson, corrections services director 42% Michael Bradbury, district attorney 3% Larry Carpenter, sheriff 1% Kenneth Clayman, public defender 24% Peter Pedroff, general services director 35% Thomas Mahon, auditor-controller 9% George Mathews, information services director Richard Wittenberg ***, former chief adminstrator -4% Thomas Berg, resource management director Ronald Komers, personnel director 28% Philip Schofield, director employee health services 18% Glen Grey, assessor 10% Dr. Gary Feldman, health officer 0% Dixie Adeniran, library services director 30% James Sewell, fire chief 5% Harold Pittman, treasurer-tax collector 6% Randall Feltman, mental health director 17% Richard Dean, county clerk 5% Richard Baldwin, air pollution control director 27% Earl McPhail, agricultural commissioner 34% Kay Martin, solid waste management director 17%

*--*

* Does not include County Chief Administrator Lin Koester, who assumed his post in May. It should also be noted that dozens of physicians, psychiatrists, attorneys and others earn more than $80,000 a year in salary and cash benefits.

** Hirtensteiner retired in May after 23 years with the county, enabling him to collect various cash benefits, such as accumulated vacation and longevity pay.

*** Wittenberg resigned in January 1995 after 16 years as county manager. Although he did not collect a salary last year, he received similar benefits as Hirtensteiner upon his departure.

Source: Ventura County Auditor-Controller’s Office

Sampling of Fire Department Incomes

A total of 103 fire personnel out of a 450-employee department earned more than $80,000 in salary, overtime and cash benefits in 1995. Nearly all received between $10,000 and $50,000 in overtime pay. Three battalion chiefs and one captain earned more money than Fire Chief James Sewell, who does not receive overtime. Here is a sampling of some of the highest incomes earned by workers in different categories:

*--*

Base Gross % above salary income base Fire chief $96,590 $101,537 5% Battalion chief $68,562 $113,403 65% Captain $55,978 $105,839 89% Deputy chief $77,324 $98,620 27% Equipment operator $52,610 $97,037 84% Firefighter $41,582 $96,669 132% Assistant fire chief $73,684 $95,939 30% Engineer $48,243 $92,689 92% Investigator $57,556 $88,209 53% Wildland fire officer $60,241 $87,899 45% Fire prevention officer $55,276 $84,471 52% Fire crew supervisor $55,231 $80,881 46%

*--*

Source: Ventura County Auditor-Controller’s Office

Sampling of Sheriff’s Department Incomes

A total of 81 sheriff’s personnel out of a 1,203-employee department earned more than $80,000 in salary, overtime and cash benefits in 1995. Nearly all received between $10,000 and $55,000 in overtime pay. Four deputies and senior deputies earned more than double their base salaries in overtime. Here is a sampling of some of the highest incomes earned by workers in different job categories:

*--*

Base Gross % above salary income base Sheriff $122,621 $124,329 1% Sergeant $59,355 $114,906 93% Undersheriff $85,150 $114,246 34% Lieutenant $65,973 $106,024 60% Chief deputy $77,324 $105,786 36% Senior deputy $48,725 $102,220 109% Deputy $45,315 $101,717 124% Commander $71,942 $96,302 33% Manager crime research $50,258 $92,327 83% Pilot $59,677 $88,569 48%

*--*

Source: Ventura County Auditor-Controller’s Office