After approving cost of living adjustments for three retired
county department heads this week, the Board of Supervisors voted
to create a policy stating that the county will not grant
retroactive raises to retired employees in the future.
Hollister – After approving cost of living adjustments for three retired county department heads this week, the Board of Supervisors voted to create a policy stating that the county will not grant retroactive raises to retired employees in the future.
The issue came before the board Tuesday when the county finance department asked supervisors whether it should grant a 3 percent retroactive cost of living adjustment that was established in February to the county’s former librarian, assessor and health and human services director. Someone in the county government had told the retirees – two who retired last December and one who retired last January – that they would get the raise, but it is not clear who that was.
The board voted unanimously to grant the raises, which amount to a one-time payment of about $3,000 per retiree.
Board Chair Reb Monaco, who is up for reelection next year, said because the retirees had been told that they would receive the pay increase, the board went ahead and granted it to avoid “ill-feelings” and the appearance that county officials don’t keep their word.
“I think the board generally felt that there had been an error in communication,” he said after the meeting. “These people were told they were going to get this.”
After they approved the raises, supervisors voted to create a county policy forbidding future retroactive raises for retired employees.
Before the board voted, Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz seemed averse to granting the raises, stating that approval would set a precedent that could put the county at legal risk in the future when other employees come asking for the same treatment.
“We’re going to treat employees differently by giving raises to just these employees,” he said. “From an organizational perspective, I believe it was the wrong thing to do.”
Early on in the discussion, De La Cruz made a motion to reject the raises, however he ultimately voted in line with his colleagues.
Some attending Tuesday’s meeting thought the board should reject paying the raises, saying that it was an irresponsible use of tax dollars. Some also shared De La Cruz’s concern that granting the raises would cause problems in the future.
“We hear a lot of fiscal responsibility talk. It’s time to show it,” said Ron Stubblefield, who announced this month his plans to run for Supervisor Pat Loe’s District 3 seat next year. “You’re opening the floodgates for all kinds of future action.”
The three retired department heads who received raises Tuesday were still county employees when the cost of living adjustment was instated in February, Loe said after Tuesday’s meeting. For that reason Loe said she believed they were entitled to the raise.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
