BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 02 July 2012 10:07 PM
The San Bernardino County grand jury is raising concerns about a November initiative that would cut the pay of county supervisors and supposedly reduce them to part-time status.
In a rare foray into election matters, the grand jury — a panel of private citizens that conducts nonbinding reviews of city and county government — compared the duties of supervisors with their counterparts at similar-sized and smaller counties. Its annual report for 2011-2012 was released Friday.
“The Grand Jury finds that the current BOS salary is comparable to other counties of similar population size and budgets,” the report states.
The grand jury also concluded that if the initiative is approved “the BOS will be compensated at a level with counties that have smaller population sizes and budgets.”
The report recommends that the county conduct a detailed statewide study of supervisors’ salaries and benefits.
In March, the Board of Supervisors approved the placement of the measure on the November ballot after proponents collected the required number of signatures to qualify it.
The initiative was spearheaded by county employee unions that have been battling with the county over proposals to cut employee benefits and rein in pension costs. The San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association spent $100,000 on political consultants and signature-gatherers to qualify the measure, according to campaign finance reports.
Supervisors now collect $151,971 annually in salary — based on a formula set by the 2006 voter-approved Measure P — plus about $67,000 in additional benefits, according to report that went to the board last year.
The initiative would limit their total compensation — salary and benefits — to $60,000 a year.
Proponents have referred to the initiative as reducing supervisors to part-time status, citing their reduced meeting schedule and increased responsibilities of county Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux. However, the measure does not limit their hours, only their pay.
The grand jury report compared San Bernardino to Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties, looking at their population, geographic size, annual budget and salary. San Bernardino County has a population of 2 million while Riverside County is at 2.2 million. In Riverside County, supervisors get an annual salary of $143,000. The grand jury appears to have rounded down, listing San Bernardino County supervisors’ pay as $150,000.
A survey of five smaller counties found a salary range of between $26,000 for Alpine to $81,576 for Humboldt although the largest of those, Shasta, has less than a tenth of the population of San Bernardino County.
The report states that in addition to board meetings — usually twice a month — each supervisor serves on 19 to 32 committees that require preparation and travel time.
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What are the names of these BONE HEAD’S leading the county employee unions?
What a mistake!
Should this pass, San Bernardino County will cave in, these BONEHEADS should be personally accountable for the beginning of the county’s decline.
They should apologize for putting their personal selfish interest above the county as a whole.
The grand jury needs to pay attention to their task NOT tell us voters how to vote! Do you read me, you stupid morons??
The BOS only meets twice a month. All citizen inquiries now must go to the Hitler Deverau. So WHY should we taxpayers pay 5 worthless slobs 150,000 salary plus 85,000 in benefits? Plus free medical care and a huge pension. WHY? Tell us that you worthless grand jury! Do your job or get the hell out of there and let someone who will do a job. WE dont need no jury telling us voters what to do.
Making the BOS part timeis only the first reform. Next is the bloated obscene pay for Deveraux and all his minions.
Grand Jury really? Spending time on this?
A great argument for totally defunding this old folks, senile, quasi-political group of old coots appointed by their judge friends to be a grand jury. GET RId of them ALL IF THIS TYPE OF SHIT IS WHAT THEY ARE WASTING TIME ON!!
Since when is it your business how we voters structure OUR local government? Presiding JUdge, DO YOUR JOB!! Get rid of these incompetents or at the least tell them to stop wasting our tax money on subjects none of their business.
Anon #4
It IS their job when the unions are using US VOTERS and the whole voting process (by deceiving and misinforming us)in order to BLACKMAIL county supervisors into funneling MORE of our tax dollar to their union members.
Perhaps a complaint to the FBI about the Union’s and District Attorney Mike Ramos malicious and criminal motives is appropriate here.
p.s.
Anon #4 is AGAIN Dave Ellis’- DA Mike Ramos’ paid man.