It is nice that you can raise your own salary. It is even nicer, while facing a deficit, you raise your pay by 48%. This was an in-your-face action by four members of the Santa Barbara Supervisors—daring the public to do something to stop them. This after they demonize the person that made it public an opposed it. Bottom line: These folks want to operate the County with no public oversite.
“The debate took an unusually personal tone, with the supervisors firing back at conservative activist Andy Caldwell, who came out full force against the proposal two weeks ago. Several of the board members accused Caldwell of deliberately misleading voters with “erroneous information” and encouraging people to send hateful messages to them.
Board chair Laura Capps took exception to Caldwell saying that the job was only part time.
“I find it curious that a man is telling me how little I work,” Capps said, staring directly at Caldwell and then removing her glasses. “I just have to tell you that. You can ask my son how little I work. It’s quite curious.”
They should be ashamed of themselves.
Santa Barbara County Supervisors Approve Own Pay Raises as Meeting Turns Personal
They fire back at conservative activist Andy Caldwell for spreading what they call ‘erroneous information’
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to increase their own salaries by 48%, bumping their annual pay to $171,000.
The debate took an unusually personal tone, with the supervisors firing back at conservative activist Andy Caldwell, who came out full force against the proposal two weeks ago. Several of the board members accused Caldwell of deliberately misleading voters with “erroneous information” and encouraging people to send hateful messages to them.
Board chair Laura Capps took exception to Caldwell saying that the job was only part time.
“I find it curious that a man is telling me how little I work,” Capps said, staring directly at Caldwell and then removing her glasses. “I just have to tell you that. You can ask my son how little I work. It’s quite curious.”
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino also showed frustration with Caldwell and took a jab at him by saying that the pay raise issue made him relevant again.
“I did get a million emails, Andy. We put you back on the map,” Lavagnino said. “You should be so happy you are relevant again.”
Caldwell, executive director of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture & Business, claimed the supervisors don’t work full time, that they meet three times a month, and that most of the meetings are “grip-and-grin,” where the supervisors are campaigning for their next election.
The suggestion angered Lavagnino, Capps and Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann. Even conservative Bob Nelson expressed frustration with Caldwell.
“It has been a difficult couple of weeks here, especially for Supervisor Lavagnino and I,” Nelson said. “We share a base of supporters and residents that COLAB speaks to, so that message has been really unfortunate, unfair, untrue.”
In addition to supervisor salary increases, the proposal included increases for elected department heads: auditor-controller, clerk-recorder-assessor, district attorney, sheriff, and treasurer-tax collector-public administrator.
The vote to approve the proposed salary increases was 3-1-1, with Capps, Lavagnino and Hartmann in support. Nelson voted against it, preferring that an independent commission review the salaries and make a recommendation.
First District Supervisor Roy Lee abstained from the vote. He said he respects all of his colleagues and realizes that the job is full time and constant work, but that he is too new in the role to support the pay increase. Lee took office six weeks ago.
County Human Resources staff have been revising management and executive compensation during the past few years, and as part of that, reviewed data from comparable counties.
The survey compares Santa Barbara County to counties such as Marin, Monterey, Orange, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Ventura. Santa Barbara County’s maximum salary for a supervisor is $115,000, and the only county that was lower based on the survey was San Luis Obispo, which was at $105,560.
Supervisors in Ventura County make $171,300 annually as a maximum. San Diego County was the highest at $219,540.
Caldwell spoke in strong terms on Tuesday and began his comments by reading a letter from former Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone.
“I am opposed to this substantial raise proposed by the supervisors,” the letter read. “The position is a part-time occupation that should be a public service, not a lucrative career.”
However, the supervisors late in the meeting stamped that out. Lavagnino said he respects Firestone greatly, but that he is wrong.
“Going to probably the wealthiest individual who has ever been on our board is probably not the best person to talk to us about what our salary range should be,” Lavagnino said.
The comment prompted a laugh from Capps, who added: “You mean you are not an heir of a global company?”
Lavagnino responded, “No, I am not.”
Firestone was an heir to the Firestone tire company.
Caldwell also said the supervisors should not increase their pay at a time when people are struggling financially.
“Think of the people who are struggling with inflation,” Caldwell said. “What you are doing is a slap in the face.”
Capps also shot down that argument as misplaced.
