The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to
a 5 percent reduction in the salary, but it was met with some
hesitation from Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz. He initially asked for
a delay in the reduction, until all elected county department heads
accepted or made a decisions on cuts to their own salaries.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to a 5 percent reduction in the salary, but it was met with some hesitation from Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz.
De La Cruz initially asked for a delay in the reduction, until all elected county department heads accepted or made a decisions on cuts to their own salaries. De La Cruz wanted to take action together – instead of making an early decision.
“It doesn’t go into effect until July 1 of 2011 so we have four to five months before this goes into place, so we will afford ample time to other elected officials and let them to decide: Yes, I’m going to participate or no, I’m not going to participate,” De La Cruz said. “I recommend tabling it and wait for the other elected officials.”
Some of the other elected positions include such roles as district attorney, treasurer, sheriff, assessor and clerk/auditor/recorder.
De La Cruz quickly conceded when the rest of the board wanted to move forward with the salary reduction.
“I feel very strongly that everybody is going to have to give something up,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “It is not business as usual with the county or state government now. I really feel we should move forward with this resolution.”
Botelho didn’t see any reason why other county officials wouldn’t move forward with the reduction, and there was no reason to wait for them, he said.
“I think everyone else will come to the table as long as we show a strong leadership dealing with our budget and our resources,” Botelho said. “At the end of the day everybody is going to have to show some sacrifice, but it starts right here.”
Supervisor Jerry Muenzer believed a delay would send a bad message to the county and its citizens, he said.
“It would be bad at this point because we’ve already asked one segment of the employees to take a 5 percent cut. If we balk at doing it –for whatever reason – it would send a wrong message,” Muenzer said.
Supervisor Robert Rivas agreed by asking the board to move forward with the cut.
“Hopefully, we can set a precedent, and those other elected department heads can hopefully make the same commitment that we are going to make this morning,” he said.
After the rest of the board showed its intention to move forward, De La Cruz said he brought it up to “stimulate the conversation.”
“A healthy discussion was brought today, and all of the elected officials have been put on notice that we wish for them to participate in the program,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz made the motion to adopt the reduction in salary.
All elected department officials have been given the same option to take a 5 percent reduction in next year’s salary, Management Analyst Jacki Credico said. The option for reduced salaries comes after the appointed department heads and other unrepresented employees agreed to take 15 furlough days and put a hold on step increases.
The employees’ concessions would save the county $468,000 in pay over the next fiscal year, Credico said. The salary changes will affect 40 employees.
Employees represented bargaining groups such as the Service Employees International Union, management employee groups and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association have not agreed to concessions but are currently in discussion with the county for furloughs next year, Credico said.
These groups represent the large majority of 460 county employees.
“They’ve usually accepted furlough days,” she said.
Each supervisor makes $44,652 every year before the 5 percent reduction. The reduced salary will save the county close to $13,000 next year.
The reduction goes into effect during the next fiscal year on July 1.
