O.C. supervisors approve salary hikes of 5% for department heads

Orange County’s elected department heads were given annual raises of 4.98% Tuesday, making it an early Christmas for the seven officials.

Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Michael S. Carona, whose annual salaries increased to $184,032, top the list of officials whose pay hikes were approved by county supervisors.

The supervisors did not discuss the raises, and they were approved as part of the consent calendar, along with routine matters.

Board Chairman Bill Campbell said the increases were about giving fair compensation to elected officials, some of whom did not receive raises for some years.

“People who run for office aren’t expecting to get rich,” Campbell said. “But you do have to compensate and recognize the levels of responsibility of their offices.”

The raises were the result of a recent review by the Human Resources Department, which recommended the adjustments because current salaries were less than those of officials holding those jobs in other Southern California counties.

But not everyone celebrated the news.

Nick Berardino, general manager for the county employees union, said he hoped the spirit of giving lingered among supervisors for the next round of labor negotiations.

“The Board of Supervisors demonstrated a great deal of generosity,” he said, “and we would expect that the generosity they have demonstrated toward top management would be extended to the hard-working men and women in the county when we begin negotiations this spring.”

In July, the county offered its 13,300 rank-and-file employees a 4.75% raise for the current fiscal year, an estimated cost of nearly $40 million. The raise slightly outpaces anticipated inflation for the coming year.

County officials said they were trying to bring salaries in line with those offered by other local governments and base them on a formula tied to the raises Superior Court judges receive, a county spokeswoman said. The judges salaries are set by the state legislature.

The board’s approval will cost the county an additional $64,775 a year. The raises are retroactive to June 23.

In 2003, elected officials received a 3.75% salary increase, zero in 2004, 2% in 2005 and 2% in January of this year, county officials said.

With the latest boost, Rackauckas and Carona earn more than most state officials, except for the governor, whose annual salary is $206,500.

Rackauckas’ salary is well below that of the $229,263 annual salary that’s paid to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who has a jurisdiction of 4,083 square miles and manages the largest prosecutorial agency in the country.

Sheriff-Coroner Carona, whose jurisdiction is the third most populated in the state, was earning $175,302, less than the salaries of sheriffs in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Ventura counties, said Jim Amormino, a sheriff’s spokesman.

“If all the department heads in the county are getting raises, then the sheriff is certainly entitled to one,” Amormino said. “Especially since he’s one of the lowest-paid sheriffs.”

Those receiving raises included the auditor controller, assessor, treasurer/tax collector, clerk-recorder and public administrator.

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david.reyes@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Elected officials’ salaries increase

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved proposed salary increases of 4.98% for elected department heads shown below. The increases would be retroactive to June 23.

Proposed salary adjustment

*--* Position Current annual Proposed annual % increase Auditor Controller $145,912 $153,178 4.98% Assessor 145,912 153,178 4.98 Treasurer/Tax Collector 145,912 153,178 4.98 Sheriff-Coroner* 175,302 184,032 4.98 District Attorney 175,302 184,032 4.98 Clerk-Recorder 117,603 123,460 4.98 Public Administrator 27,310 28,670 4.98

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* Net 4.5% increase after discontinued 1% contribution to retiree medical plan, and no employee contribution to pension.

Source: Orange County Board of Supervisors