Debunking the Myth of Overpaid County Workers : Study Should Reduce Skepticism for Civil Employees

William J. Popejoy has said that when he took over as Orange County’s chief executive officer after the county declared bankruptcy, he had his doubts about the abilities of county workers. That skepticism did not last long.

Within days, Popejoy found that the county’s thousands of employees were smart, hard-working and dedicated. He said his new troops were every bit as good as those who worked for him in the private sector.

The belief that government workers somehow don’t quite measure up to their counterparts in the “real world” nearly always is a myth. Equally invalid is the too common belief that public employees are overpaid.

New evidence that workers for Orange County are paid comparably to those in the private sector can be found in a study published last month, one that deserves widespread attention.

The Board of Supervisors was right to order the study, which was paid for by the county and conducted by an outside company. Even without a bankruptcy, government needs to spend taxpayers’ money wisely. Monitoring private sector salaries can help ensure that county staff are not overpaid. That cuts both ways, of course. Findings that employees are underpaid can provide ammunition during salary negotiations.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said the salary study, done by KH Consulting Group, was probably the most comprehensive examination of pay comparisons done in the county.

The results showed that in about 70% of the positions compared, the county job paid equal to or less than the average for the same private sector job. For about 20% of the positions, county workers did up to 15% better than the average in the private sector. For nearly 10%, the county job paid more than 15% above the average.

The study showed that the county saves money in the top-paying jobs. For instance, the county’s chief executive officer--Jan Mittermeier, Popejoy’s successor--makes $140,000; the comparable private sector average was $265,000. It is at the lower level that the disparity favors county workers: janitors make about $25,000, plus benefits, for the county, compared with about $18,000 and no benefits in the private sector.

The study should help restore the confidence of county employees, who now can rebut criticism that they are overpaid.

One unfortunate result of the county’s loss of $1.6 billion in its disastrous investment fund was the firing of nearly 600 county workers. Popejoy said at the time that the budget and firings “will cause pain to so many innocent people.” He rightly added: “The county employees who will now lose their jobs did not cause this bankruptcy.”

More than 1,400 employees who were not fired took buyouts or simply quit. Many were veteran county workers whose institutional memory, experience and knowledge of who to call for help and how to get things done have been missed.

As one example, the registrar of voters, Donald Tanney, had worked for 30 years for the county, supervising local, state and federal elections. Tanney said he refused to put up with comments from some people demeaning county workers and blaming them for the fiscal crisis.

Some management analysts contend that pruning government ranks can provide benefits such as increasing the opportunities for promotion for those who stay. Otherwise, workers can become restive as they find their job advancement blocked.

But the nature of Orange County’s problems has made some potential job applicants leery. The job of county counsel has been vacant for more than a year. A nationwide search for a new head of the children’s services section in the county’s Social Services Agency produced a Florida health professional, but he turned down the job and later took a post in Arizona.

County officials who have remained on the job properly have realized the need to restore morale. That may become easier after the county emerges from bankruptcy, which is expected next month. It will also be easier if more residents shun the rhetoric about overpaid workers in a bloated bureaucracy in favor of the reality of government employees doing the jobs that taxpayers pay them to do.