- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors approve raises totaling $16 million over coming four years
Over the course of nine separate votes held during its Sept. 28 meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved memorandums of understanding or resolutions raising salaries for the Lake County Employees Association, Units No. 3, 4 and 5; Lake County Correctional Officers Association; Lake County Deputy District Attorney’s Association; Lake County Safety Employees Association; Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association; employees assigned to Confidential Unit, Section A; employees assigned to Confidential Unit, Section B; Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association; and management employees.
Following the votes, the board and staff rose to congratulate themselves with a standing ovation.
The memorandums, or MOUs, are in effect from Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025, while the resolutions covering the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association and management employees are for the period of Nov. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025.
Two groups — the Lake County Correctional Officers Association and Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association — have brand-new MOUs after last year’s agreements failed to be ratified by the unions and the board.
The MOU documents can be found here, on the board’s agenda page for that meeting.
The action to implement millions in raises comes after the Board of Supervisors recently brought the county’s Fiscal Crisis Management Plan to a close, the County Administrative Office reported.
In response to Lake County News’ questions about the county’s financial stability, the County Administrative Office pointed to higher-than-expected sales tax revenues and a steady increase in both sales and property tax for “many years in a row” following the recession among its reasons for that fiscal crisis action plan being discontinued.
Raises result from classification and compensation study
The action the board took Sept. 28 implements the final piece of a plan that came out of a $100,000 classification and compensation study spearheaded by County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson and completed for the county by CPS HR, a Joint Powers Agency based in Sacramento.
The county hired CPS HR in 2018 to complete the study, the first one that the county had conducted since 2003.
It compared the county of Lake’s salaries and classifications to 12 other counties: Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba.
The study, completed in 2019, proposed reducing the county’s 12-step pay range to a five-step range and raising employees’ salaries to 85% of the median pay rate across those counties.
Asked if the county had a deadline for implementing the study, Huchingson said no, but added that the data is already two years old and there comes a point where it doesn’t mean as much.
The agreements and resolutions bring all employees to 98% of market median for the first year, 100% for the second year, 102% for the third and 105% for the fourth.
In response to questions from Lake County News, the County Administrative Office said the raises will total a maximum of approximately $16,066,931 should all of the jobs be filled.
If the county’s vacancy rate remains unchanged — on the day of the meeting Huchingson said it was 21% — the total payroll cost over four years would be $12,853,544, the County Administrative Office said.
A high vacancy rate despite raises is not just a very real possibility, it’s continued to be the reality for the county over the past year.
When the board approved more than $5 million in total estimated raises in October 2020, the vacancy rate was then 20%.
Huchingson said they are aiming for a vacancy rate of 10% or below.
The source of the funds to pay for the raises is state, federal money, grants, and new anticipated revenues from taxes — cannabis, sales and property — and investment firm interest, officials said.
The raises will make the Public Health officer job — now only being filled on a partial basis by Dr. Gary Pace — the highest-paid job in the county, at $242,880 for the fifth, or highest step, by year four of the agreements.
The second-highest salary will be that of Huchingson herself, the county administrative officer, who for the second year in a row will receive a very large raise.
Last year, she received a 30% increase, this year she received 54.5%, plus a 2.5% longevity increase, the county reported.
She is currently at Step 5, and so will see her monthly pay go from $13,563.20, or $162,758.40 annually — based on a 160-hour-per month average calculation — to $17,541 per month, or $210,492 annually, in the first year.
For perspective, Gov. Gavin Newsom has an annual salary of $209,747. The California Citizens Compensation Commission voted in June to raise elected officials’ salaries by 4.2% in December, meaning he’ll then get $218,556.37 annually.
That’s still not as much as Huchingson will make when she reaches year four, when her pay will increase to $18,795 a month, or an annual salary of $225,540.
County explains raise amounts, sources
When asked by Lake County News about the cost breakdown by employee groups, particularly for management, county officials said the raises have not been broken down according to the employee groups, and that they didn’t have the time or staffing to make those calculations.
During the first year, the $9,175,017 to fill all county positions will be primarily covered by cannabis tax revenues for general fund departments, while non-general fund departments will utilize state and federal allocations, the county reported. Forty-six percent of the raises will come from the general fund.
Officials said $9,175,017 equates to an increase of 2.78% to the overall county 2021-22 budget.
Years two to four will continue to be funded by state and federal allocations for non-general fund departments. The County Administrative Office said it anticipates costs for general fund departments will be covered by increases in property tax, sales tax and interest increases resulting from our recent change of investment firms. “Cannabis tax will be a last resort funding source.”
Over the life of the MOUs, the percentage of the county’s budget that goes to salaries will grow from 31.87%, or $104 million, to 33.27%, or $111,618,698, officials said.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter said that despite still being in the pandemic, the county can afford the raises, noting sales tax over the past year has come in at more than $1 million higher than the county has ever had before. While they don’t expect it to continue at the same level, there are other funding sources that can cover the raises, including the general fund cannabis tax. None of those sources are considered one-time revenue.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said the idea is for the county to do its best to never have to touch cannabis taxes, noting they have other contingencies.
He estimated that $10 million is coming in this year from cannabis taxes alone, which he credited to the work of economic development over the last two years. Bolstering public safety helps with any kind of economic development.
Despite the risk of substantial market volatility in the state’s highly regulated cannabis sector, Huchingson said no one-time funding would be used for the raises.
The county also has not given detailed estimates of the impact to retirement and pension costs, or its unfunded pension liabilities.
That’s a particular concern, since the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CALPERS, assumes a 3% increase in salaries in determining its rates. As such, salary increases above 3% can drive up retirement costs significantly.
In this case, all management employees will receive a 19.4% salary increase for the coming year, which is because they were at only 80% of the market median, not 85% of the market median, for the past year.
Carter said CALPERS is considered within the proposal, and he said normal costs will go up because it’s a percentage of payroll. He said the unfunded liabilities are a set amount and will slightly increase year to year.
Impacts for law enforcement personnel
Of the MOUs approved, only two — the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association — specifically seek to lower the high cost of the county’s group health care plan for their members.
That’s because Huchingson said employees told the county in a survey a few years ago that salary was the most important issue and the health benefit was not.
However, it was an issue for the deputies. In May 2019, the board approved a short-term MOU with the deputies’ union that had the county pick up 80% of the health care costs for deputies while the deputies picked up 20%. That remains in effect for the deputies in the new MOU and was added as a benefit for the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association, bringing them on par with their subordinates.
Last year, the county and deputies failed to come to an agreement on an updated MOU, with one of the concerns being that the proposed salary steps showed little or no increases. Huchingson said that was because the deputies were already above the 85% level.
Concerns were raised within law enforcement ranks about the study not taking into account a 30% raise Mendocino County’s deputies had received thanks to an October 2019 agreement, which threw off the calculations for Lake’s deputies.
It remains unclear how the county and deputies’ union resolved those discrepancies in negotiations, as all of the job classifications in the unit will make less per hour — in some cases close to a $1 difference — at the top step under the new agreement, although some beginning steps are higher.
Under the previously enacted MOU, a 12-step pay range for a deputy sheriff 1 classification ranged from $24.69 to $35.68 per hour, translating to $3,950.40 a month and $47,404.80 a year for the bottom step and $5,708.80 monthly and $68,505.60 annually for the top step.
Under the new agreement, a deputy sheriff 1 will range from $26.74 on the first step in the first year, up to $34.82 per hour at the fifth step in year four, for a top annual pay of $66,854.40.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said at the Sept. 28 meeting that in addition to the MOU, the board allocated seven new positions to the sheriff’s office in the budget. “We are absolutely funding the police.”
He did not mention, however, that just two years beforehand, the board had cut 15 deputy positions from the sheriff’s office. The seven “new” positions restore less than half of what was lost for a department which, unlike other county agencies, has tended to show a decrease in staffing over the long-term.
Deputy Sheriff’s Association President Gary Frace thanked the county at the Sept. 28 meeting and singled out Sabatier for listening to the deputies and concerns of the sheriff’s office.
Frace said the deputies’ union believes the new contract will help recruit and retain quality deputies to protect the community. He said the continued medical benefit has lifted a weight off association members.
“It doesn't go unnoticed by us,” said Frace, adding he believes the agreement is a step in the right direction.
County officials, board members explain taking action
The day before the Sept. 28 meeting, Lake County News asked the County Administrative Office if the county is projecting a continuing growth in revenue to be able to support these raises over the long-term.
“Our Board is fully committed to furthering economic development and growth in Lake County,” the county responded.
At the Sept. 28 meeting, Lake County News asked the board more about economic development efforts as part of being able to maintain the county’s fiscal health in light of the raises.
Sabatier said the county started the process because of its vacancies and hiring challenges, watching good candidates slip through their fingers or losing staffers to other counties with better pay.
He said they are looking to grow the economy and filling the vacancies will allow the county to pursue important projects like infrastructure and seeking grants, along with enhancing public safety.
Sabatier said economic development will have to have the outcomes the county needs and it will create more work “for all of us.”
He added, “I think that this is a huge step” that he’s nervous and excited about, and he’s been telling people there is change in the air and for the future.
“Today is a great day,” said Supervisor Moke Simon, adding they’re committed to moving forward over the next decade and for seven generations.
Later in the meeting he also raised the economic development task force, a focus on infrastructure, the new Community Development director and area plan updates, tourism and rebranding as factors that would support the county’s financial health.
He said they can only achieve their goals with the support of staff and by filling vacancies.
“It will take awhile to see where we’re at. I don’t think — we haven’t had the conversation of what we expect this to do. But we do expect those changes to be happening, and by mid-spring to understand the impact of the decisions that we’re making today,” Simon said.
Board members also mentioned broadband expansion and housing projects as contributing to the county’s future economic growth.
Supervisor Tina Scott called it an “exciting day” and Supervisor Jessica Pyska said she was happy to be part of giving out the raises.
Sabatier also said the county has formalized a process for evaluating department heads, with goal setting and conversations about current and coming fiscal years. Those evaluations will be held in October and November of each year, and the board will discuss budget priorities in departments in February and March in order to match the coming year’s budget to goals.
Asked about the size of the raises, Huchingson, who has worked for the county for 28 years, said, “What is proposed today exceeds anything I've seen in all of those years.”
She said there were lean and dry years, and had the county kept pace with small cost of living increases, it wouldn’t be looking at such a large leap in salary costs.
County Chief Probation Officer Rob Howe, who has been with the county nearly 30 years, also said it was the largest increase to staff pay he has seen.
Before the 2020 raises, the most recent raises given to county employers were a 3-percent negotiated increase for the Lake County Safety Employees Association in January 2017 and 2 percent bargained by Lake County Correctional Officers’ Association in December 2017. All county employees received a 3-percent cost of living adjustment and a 7-percent salary adjustment in the 2015-16 fiscal year, as Lake County News has previously reported.
The board held separate discussions and votes for each of the items.
After the last vote, Simon, noting it was a “pretty historic day,” stood and led the board and staff in giving themselves a standing ovation.
Huchingson noted during the meeting that, “It might seem like this completes it and it’s all done.”
What was still yet to be completed was a lot of work for the county’s payroll department to get the raises entered into the system in time for them to show up on paychecks in time for the Dec. 1 payday, she said.
County officials also explained during the meeting and in responses afterward to questions submitted by Lake County News that the funding for the raises was included in the $319 million budget the board approved in mid-September, and that departmental budgets will be adjusted at midyear to cover costs.
Follow-up questions on cannabis tax, rainy day plan
In response to further questions about the implementation of the raises and sources, the County Administrative Office said the cannabis tax is a general tax, so its revenues that are utilized for the raises will be allocated to all general fund departments where additional funding is needed. That includes law enforcement expenses, which are estimated at roughly 45% of the general fund.
The board also regularly reviews its cannabis tax spending policy “and this is within the scope of the policy,” the department said.
Regarding a rainy day plan should the county’s optimistic economic projections not play out, the County Administrative Office said the county has $4,548,360 budgeted in contingencies, $12,500,000 in general fund general reserves and $10,039,525 in the cannabis fees and taxation reserve.
Those amounts, the office said, “will increase as revenues continue to increase, providing the county multiple years to figure out alternate methods to pay for these MOUs, if needed.”
Summary of the board’s actions
The board’s Sept. 28 actions are as follows.
6.2: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Employees Association, Units #3, #4, & #5 and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free air medical ambulance — or REACH — membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.3: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Correctional Officers Association and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
— Salaries increase to 98% of the median (there was no agreement last year).
— Addition of a differential in the amount of +2.5% for Dispatchers who have earned intermediate, advanced and supervisory Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, certificates.
— Inclusion of language pertaining to seniority shift bidding.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Standardized language around the five-step salary system.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.4: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Deputy District Attorney’s Association and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase to 98% of the median (there was no agreement last year).
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.5: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Safety Employees Association and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— With the shift of the welfare fraud investigator classes to the district attorney, department head references in the MOU have been updated to include both the chief probation officer and the district attorney.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.6: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the county of Lake for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Standardized language around the five-step salary system.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— The county will continue to pay 80% of the county-sponsored medical, dental and vision group insurance plan for every employee enrolled in the plan.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.7: Consideration of resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to the Confidential Unit, Section A, for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.8: Consideration of resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to the Confidential Unit, Section B, for Oct. 21, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.9: Consideration of memorandum of understanding by and between the Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association and the county of Lake for Nov. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 85 to 98% of the median.
— Clarification of salary step advancement in the case of less than satisfactory performance.
— Clarification of salary upon promotion or reclassification.
— Standardized language around the five-step salary system.
— Ability to cash out 40 hours of unused vacation time annually if they have occurred more than 200 hours.
— Employees will retain longevity steps on promotion, with subsequent longevity steps earned after five years of service in the new classification.
— Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, the county will pay 80% of the county-sponsored medical, dental and vision group insurance plan for every employee enrolled in the plan. This is the same benefit currently given to the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
6.10: Consideration of resolution establishing salaries and benefits for management employees for the period from Nov. 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025. Action: Approved in a 5-0 vote.
Highlights:
— Salaries increase from 80 to 98% of the median.
— Updates references to chief probation officer and chief deputy probation officer to “peace officer,” enabling all peace officer classifications in the group to receive educational incentives comparable to those afforded their subordinate classes.
— Employees retain longevity steps on promotion. Subsequent longevity steps are earned after five years of service in the new class.
— Ability to cash out 40 hours of unused vacation time annually if they have occurred more than 200 hours.
— Administrative leave increased from 40 to 60 hours per year.
— Elected department heads (assessor-recorder, auditor-controller, district attorney, sheriff-coroner and treasurer-tax collector) receive an annual payment in lieu of vacation, sick leave and administrative leave equal to 7.69 % of their annual salary. The payment is to be issued by Sept. 30 of each fiscal year.
— Free REACH membership.
— Effective July 1, 2022, life insurance coverage expanded to the amount of each employee’s base annual salary, capped at $100,000.
Largest percentage increase by position versus pre-study wages at 98% of median:
Social Services Aide: 59.4%
Social Services Aide, Senior: 55.8%
County Administrative Officer: 54.5%
Deputy County Counsel, Senior: 53.9%
Deputy County Counsel III: 53.6%
Deputy County Counsel II: 53.3%
Deputy County Counsel I: 53.1%
Deputy Human Resources Director: 49.8%
Systems Support Analyst II: 48.9%
Systems Support Analyst I: 48.8%
Elections Specialist, Senior: 48.3%
Elections Specialist: 48.0%
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.