Quick Take
Santa Cruz County supervisors will consider changing how their salaries are determined, just weeks after declaring the county in financial distress and putting a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is considering changing how it determines its own salaries, just weeks after declaring the county is in fiscal distress and placing a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot to help shore up its finances.
County staff are recommending that the five-member board “delink” its salaries from those of Superior Court judges and consider tying future pay increases to factors such as the cost of living. The board will not be voting Tuesday on whether to give itself a salary increase.
The issue was revisited earlier this month, at the suggestion of District 3 Supervisor Justin Cummings, who argued supervisors’ salaries should be looked at in a “more equitable manner,” especially because it remains unclear whether Superior Court judges will receive a salary increase this year.
“When we’re considering salaries for our employees, we’re taking into account consumer price index, cost of living,” Cummings said at the Aug. 11 board meeting. “All these different factors that are relevant to where we are, which is very different from the judges throughout the entire state.”
In 2021, the board unanimously voted to maintain supervisors’ salaries at 62% of the salary of Superior Court judges, with supervisors’ pay rising when judges’ salaries do. A state Superior Court judge earns $244,727 annually.
The board historically used this same approach until 1997, when it faced budgetary challenges, County Human Services Director Ajita Patel told supervisors in early August. At the time, the board amended the county code to allow elected officials to waive their salary or choose not to give themselves a raise.
Currently, the individual salary of a board of supervisor is $151,730.80; those selected as board chair (a position that’s rotated annually) get a small pay increase. County spokesperson Jason Hoppin told Lookout that supervisors received a 2.62% raise last year.
According to a county staff report, supervisors make about 12% below the average market rate in comparison to county elected officials in other jurisdictions. In Monterey County, a supervisor’s annual salary is $167,040.64.
“What’s being recommended is not something above and beyond what we are giving to our employees,” Cummings said earlier this month. “But it’s something that’s comparable to what our employees are facing in this financial time. I think we’re all feeling some financial pressures.”
The discussion comes as the county confronts a significant budget shortfall. Earlier this month, supervisors declared financial distress and voted unanimously to place a five-year, half-cent sales tax increase before voters in November.
If approved, the tax could help maintain services including mental healthcare, food security programs and other health services as county staff project a reduction in revenue as a result of changes in federal funding.
The county also used nearly $43 million in combined one-time funding from its general fund reserves and departmental trust funds to help avoid employee layoffs and keep its safety net programs. Some county departments, such as the public defender’s office and parks, faced mounting pressure to balance their budgets, sometimes relying on other departments to help close funding gaps.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the North County Government Center Board Chambers located at 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz; you can also watch the meeting online via Zoom.
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