Pay Raises for Nevada County Executive Staff - Are They Justified?
Recently, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass many resolutions increasing pay raises for county staff. Resolution 22-288 gave Alison Lehman, the current chief executive officer for Nevada County, carte blanche to give bonuses at her discretion to senior staff. Given the impending downturn in state funding, it's time to review this policy.
Board Delegated its Authority Over County Pay to the CEO
Pursuant to Resolution 22-288, “the County Executive Officer shall establish and maintain a system of performance measurements and goal setting in order to evaluate Senior Executive eligibility for pay-for-performance salary differentials.” Although a Senior Executive’s anniversary date shall remain intact on an annual basis, Senior Executives are eligible to receive salary adjustments at any time during the year based upon demonstrating superior performance in meeting the County Executive Officer’s established goals and objectives. The County Executive Officer is authorized to provide a 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, or 10.0% pay-for-performance salary differential for a period to be determined by the County Executive Officer.
Other than doing their job, what additional superior performances are there? What, exactly, are the pay-for-performance criteria for which bonuses are given? Are there guidelines?
COVID Relief Funds
In 2020, Nevada County received Cares Act funds to be used for expenditures due to the public health emergency known as COVID-19. The County’s COVID Relief Fund Expenditure Plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors in July 2020 (Resolution 20-319). It allocated $3.5 million to be reinvested into Community & Economic Resiliency programs. Another $6.5 Million was allocated for County Response to COVID-19, and $3.8 million of that allocation went for Public Health & Safety Employee Payroll.
Amazingly, on top of the already existing high salaries for Senior Staff in 2019, Alison Lehman approved raises for 2020 when staff was working from home. Just as a comparison, Alison Lehman’s 2022 total salary and benefits package was $430,800. Governor Newsom’s 2022 total was $290,120.
Senior Staff Total Salary and Benefits Raises from 2019 to 2020
Keeping in mind that California Governor Newsom’s pay raise from 2019 to 2020 was a modest $8,372, below are the salary and benefit increases for Nevada County senior staff over the same period in addition to their already existing salaries.
$94,174 – Alison Lehman, CEO
102,346 – Ryan Gruver, Health & Human Svc. Dir.
76,451 – Steve Monaghan, Chief Information Officer
73,325 – Craig Griesbach, Building Dir.
71,467 – Mali Dyck, Assistant CEO
70,760 – Trish Tillotson, Dir. of Comm. Dev. Agency
67,833 – Martin Polt, Deputy CEO
65,176 – Auditor-Controller
61,177 – Jesse Wilson, DA
59,465 – Phebe Bell, Dir. Behavioral Health
58,487 – Steven Rose, Dir. of Human Resources
58,099 – Tina Vernon, Tax Collector
56,013 – Jill Blake, Public Health Dir.
54,919 – Amy Irani, Dir. Environmental Health
53,615 – Jeffrey Thorsby, Sr. Analyst for Board of Supervisors
41,477 – Katherine Elliot, County Counsel
Total pay and benefits for Nevada County department heads and elected officials, 2018-2022. Click to view the PDF.
What justified these exorbitant raises in 2020 when staff was working from home?
$139,826,681 (Total Salary & Benefits Budget for 2023-24)
÷ 874 (Total County Employees)
= $159,985 (Average County Salary & Benefits per person)
vs.
$41,079 (Nevada County per Capita Income)
$68,333 (Median Household Income)
Nevada County Salaries are Determined During Closed Sessions without Citizen Oversight
“Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.6, a closed session of the Board of Supervisors will be held for the purpose of reviewing its position and instructing its designated labor negotiations representatives regarding employee salaries, salary schedules, fringe benefits, and all other matters within the statutory scope of representation. The labor negotiations are with the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Management Employees Association, Senior Executives and Elected Officials. The designated labor negotiation representatives for Nevada County are Caleb Dardick, Assistant County Executive Officer, Steven Rose, Human Resources Director, and Donna Williamson, Labor Attorney.”
Currently, there’s no citizen oversight of county expenditures. Ordinary citizens are not allowed to attend the yearly budget sessions. Neither are citizens privy to negotiations in how salaries and pay raises are decided. Consequently, there’s no transparency in budget decision-making.
Citizens Expect Transparent Fiscal Responsibility from its Government
Taxpayers expect fiscal responsibility from our Board of Supervisors and CEO. This may require revising salary and benefits policy and keeping a lid on raises. Does the Board have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer to make sure sufficient funds are there to cover core services?
Somehow it just doesn’t seem right that our CEO and Senior Staff have higher salaries than the Governor of California, or other state officials. There has to be a concerted effort by the Board of Supervisors to bring salaries and benefits expenses under control. Leaving pay raises solely to the discretion of the CEO is irresponsible at best.
Solutions
Quantitative easing of salaries and benefits bringing them down to 35% of gross revenue. Perhaps salaries and benefits should be 35% of yearly revenue, instead of 40%. Even a five percent reduction in salary expenses would yield an additional $6,991,334 in funds for core services. A citizen’s task force should be formed to review the yearly budget and address whether salaries and benefits are impinging on funds for providing core services.
Also, when voting for a new supervisor in the upcoming election, make sure they won’t vote for more salary increases. Check the voting record of the incumbent.
