The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 15 approved labor agreements with five union groups as well as unrepresented employees and department heads.
The updated contracts cover the period from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. The supervisors approved individual contracts between the county and Service Employees International Union Local 521, Management Employee Group, Law Enforcement Management, Institutions Association (corrections officers) and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
County employees who are not represented by these groups are the subject of a separate one-year employment agreement.
Under the agreements, employees in each group are skipping an annual cost of living salary increase for the coming year. However, the employees in each agreement are eligible for two “signing bonuses” of $1,000 each over the next year.
The contracts also lay out the employees’ benefits, retirement contribution obligations, allowances, overtime, bilingual pay, time off and other conditions of employment. Step increases for employees based on how long they have worked for the county are specified in the contracts.
‘Equity adjustment’ to keep up with market
The supervisors also approved an “equity salary adjustment” for 49 county employees whose salaries are currently far below the going rate for nearby counties. The adjustment, which takes effect Sept. 19, 2021, will result in an overall increase of $224,023 to San Benito County’s total payroll, according to a county staff report.
The equity adjustment was approved after the county commissioned Ralph Anderson and Associates to conduct a “compensation and classification study” of the county’s 470 employees, who are categorized into 265 different classifications.
The purpose of the study was to update county job descriptions and determine the “market standing” of San Benito County salaries compared to similar government employers. The study compared local salaries to those of Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Merced, Stanislaus, Madera, Fresno, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras and San Luis Obispo counties, and the cities of Hollister, Gilroy and Watsonville.
Overall, Ralph Anderson and Associates found that San Benito’s standing in the market was about 3.4 percent below market, according to county staff.
However, the study found that 45 classes (for a total of 49 employees) in San Benito are “well below market,” or at least 10 percent under the marketplace studied. These are the positions subject to the equity raises approved by the supervisors on Dec. 15.
Employing staff at salaries too far below market rate could place the county at a recruiting disadvantage, according to county staff.
