Orange County supervisors recently offered their long-awaited response to a December grand jury report eviscerating the board for quietly granting itself a $49,000 pay hike. Doug Chaffee, Janet Nguyen and Don Wagner approved the rebuttal without discussion. Katrina Foley — the only board member to vote no on the 25% raise — opposed the response, while Vicente Sarmiento abstained. It’s not surprising the board has handled this embarrassment in its typically squirrelly way.
For a refresher, the grand jury noted that supervisors obscured the raise, which boosted their pay above the governor’s, from public scrutiny. It said the “timing was especially troubling” given county “hiring freezes and budget constraints.” It argued the “decision was not only tone-deaf — it reflected a deeper disconnect from the board’s duty to serve the public with transparency and fiscal responsibility.” It also questioned the timing — just days after supervisor Andrew Do was handed a five-year prison term related to a bribery scandal.
This Editorial Board took particular umbrage at the shady origins of the proposal. If board members thought they deserved a big pay hike, they should have defended it vigorously rather than “quietly” approved it. The board argued the raise was properly placed on the agenda and discussed at a public meeting. No one is disputing that the vote was handled legally. We’re questioning whether it was given the analysis and discussion it deserved.
The grand jury called for specifics including rescinding the hikes, creating an independent compensation review panel and creating a better process for future hikes. The board responded in a legalistic manner: “The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable.” It cited statutes suggesting it needn’t change any procedures. County taxpayers deserve more than bureaucratic speak from their elected representatives.
Per reports, the board’s attorney also questioned whether supervisors could reduce salaries mid-term. Whatever the legal arguments, nothing is stopping all supervisors from giving their extra salary to charity (as Chaffee and Sarmiento announced following public blowback) and rescinding the raises for future board members. What say you, supervisors?