On February 10, 2015, the Board of Supervisors considered several options for setting Board member salaries, as well as the possible salary level. Following its deliberations, the Board directed the County Counsel to prepare two ordinances for possible introduction on March 3: Version A, to authorize a 7% increase to the Board of Supervisors member salaries to the level of $104,307, and Version B, to additionally link the Board's salary level to that of 56.5% of a Superior Court Judge's salary. The 7% increase was based on a 4% general COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) granted to employees on July 1, 2014 plus a 3% COLA that employees received on July 1, 2015. The Board, on March 3, decided to introduce Version A, as Ordinance No. 2015-05, and also directed the County Administrator to
convene an
ad hoc committee to study the Board of Supervisors' compensation. The Board's 7% salary increase took effect on June 1, 2015.
The Ad Hoc Committee refined its study methodology over a series of nine meetings, culminating in three recommendations, which were presented to the Board of Supervisors on July 7, 2015:
- Adjust the Board of Supervisors base salary by 12% spread over three years (3.855% on January 1 of 2016, 2017, and 2018). Make no other salary adjustment until July 1, 2018 except taking any proportional reduction by ordinance to correspond to any general county employee salary and/or benefit reduction.
- Eliminate intra-County mileage reimbursement for Board members, making the auto benefit “$600/mo. plus out-of-County mileage reimbursement” only.
- Establish an ongoing Board of Supervisors compensation review committee, composed of impartial citizens, to review the Board's compensation triennially. This Committee should adopt a peer county review methodology that includes quantifying total compensation and factoring in geographic cost of living differentials. The Board should consider using this methodology in reviewing elected department head salaries.
The Board, on July 7, approved the recommended salary adjustment (Recommendation 1) in concept but was unable to reach agreement on the automobile benefit and future salary setting methodology (Recommendations 2 and 3), and so directed the County Administrator to return to the Board with (1) the history of the vehicle and mileage allowance, (2) mileage reimbursement history for each Supervisor (did not specify a time period), and (3) the cost of a fleet vehicle, including maintenance and depreciation. The County Administrator reported this information back to the Board on July 28, at which time the Board gave direction to prepare an ordinance that:
- Adjusts the Board of Supervisors base salary by 12% spread over three years (3.855% on January 1 of 2016, 2017, and 2018).
- Eliminates intra-Supervisorial District mileage reimbursement for Board members, making the auto benefit “$600/mo. plus out-of-District mileage reimbursement” only.
Ordinance No. 2015-19, attached, was prepared at the Board's direction of July 28, introduced on August 18, and is recommended for adoption today, whereupon the ordinance would take effect in 60 days, on October 24, 2015, with the first scheduled salary increment to be effective on January 1, 2016.