No Raises for Top Toll Road Agencies Executives

The governing boards of Orange County’s toll road agencies on Thursday denied salary increases to their top three executives, a year after the trio were given one-time bonuses totaling nearly $20,000.

Board members said last year’s bonuses were based on the successful financing of $1.5 billion in bonds for the Foothill/Eastern tollway, the early opening of a tollway segment and various cost savings.

This year, the executives are doing a “satisfactory” job, according to Scott Diehl, chairman of one of the tollway agencies. “There is no criticism of the job that is being done, but we felt there is already adequate compensation.”

Diehl said the boards are going to set up a framework for establishing raises in the future, by listing various goals and determining whether their managers meet or exceed them next year.

“We took a lot of criticism for handing out those bonuses last year,” Diehl said. “We want our boards to feel comfortable that when they give out a raise, they can go back and show everyone there is a compensation study and here’s why we did what we did.”

Last year’s bonuses--$7,062 to chief executive William Woollett Jr., one of the county’s highest-paid officials, and $6,370 each to his vice presidents, Greg Henk and Wally Kreutzen--created a stir because they occurred less than a year after the county went bankrupt and the tollway agencies invested about $325 million in the county’s collapsed investment portfolio.

Woollett makes $141,248 a year. Kreutzen and Henk make $127,415.

Only one board member, Irvine Councilwoman Paula Werner, voted against the bonuses last year. This year, it was unanimous that no bonuses be distributed until an evaluation process is in place, board members said.

Many governmental agencies are refusing to give cost-of-living increases to top executives. Some officials believe that outstanding performance is required to merit a raise in times of cutbacks and government layoffs,

Last month, for example, Stan Oftelie, the chief executive officer of the Orange County Transportation Authority, had his salary frozen for a year because others were being laid off within the agency. He is eligible for a bonus beginning next year.

Others in government can expect the same scrutiny, officials said.

“It’s not a reflection of a lack of effort,” County Supervisor Marian Bergeson said. “This is a new era. Government needs to recognize that a new level of evaluation and expectation and performance is in order.”

Last year’s 5% bonuses to Woollett, Henk and Kreutzen were something of a compromise. Some board members wanted a 2% cost-of-living increase and a 3% merit pay increase, but others said no increase should be built into the base salaries, which would trigger other benefits.

“Cost of living is out” for government executives, said Laguna Niguel Mayor Patricia C. Bates, chairwoman of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor agency. “Merit bonuses are a fair way to evaluate someone. Some years you exceed your goals. Some years you don’t. And why should you be getting a raise just for doing your job?”

Board members had hoped to have a method in place for evaluating its executives sometime in the past year, but it was never completed. Within the next four to six months, Diehl said, a proper evaluation procedure will be created.