Toll Road Salary Suggestions Downscaled

Officials at Orange County’s toll road agency have reduced their suggested ceilings for executive salaries following criticism that earlier recommendations were too high.

“You’re constantly hearing that the public sector should start acting more like a business,” said Mike Ward, chairman of the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ Joint Administration Committee. “That’s exactly what we’re doing here.”

The committee recommended a salary range of $115,500 to $160,000 per year for the TCA’s top executives including its chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief engineer. An earlier recommendation had placed the top salary for those executives at $184,500.

The agency’s highest paid employee, Chief Executive Officer William Woollett, is compensated under a separate contract. He receives about $142,000 a year, which TCA officials say is less than the industry median of $152,500.

Other recommended annual salary ceilings adopted Monday include $133,980 for the agency’s director and deputy director of design and construction, corridor manager and directors of finance and environmental services and $111,650 for its controller and directors of contracts, toll operations, public affairs and administrative services.

Earlier recommendations had set those ceilings at $147,600 and $123,000 respectively.

Ward said his committee responded to criticism of the earlier salary schedules by members of the TCA’s Budget and Finance Committee, which sent the schedules back two weeks ago for further consideration.

“I feel that we have satisfied as many of the objections as we can,” Ward said.

Before becoming final, the new salary schedule must be reviewed by three other agency committees and approved by the board of directors. The board is scheduled to consider the matter Aug. 14.

Ward stressed that no immediate raises would be given and that most of the agency’s 49 employees are paid well below the recommended top salaries for their categories.