Board to Pay Doctors More Than Staff Urged

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to hire three doctors as public health specialists at salaries of $105,000, though the county’s budget staff said the positions should pay less.

The county pay range for the positions began at $71,400, but officials from the Department of Health Services said higher salaries had been offered to attract top candidates.

“All three have in common that they are accepting a decrease in compensation,” Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county’s public health director, said of the candidates. “These people [will be] responsible for public health for an area of roughly 1 million people. . . . We need proven, tested leaders.”

But Supervisor Gloria Molina complained that, given the department’s projected $119-million deficit this year, the pay was unnecessary.

“We don’t seem to take this deficit really seriously,” Molina said. “We keep building up this bureaucracy.”

A report from the county’s chief administrative office, while praising the candidates, said the positions should be funded at a lower level. The report notes that of 290 county employees in the same classification as the new positions, only eight make comparable money.

Supervisor Don Knabe, while complaining about a lack of strategic planning in the department, said he did not want to “nickel and dime” the department, and supervisors approved the pay, with Molina and Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke objecting.