When 2nd District Supervisor Janice Rutherford spoke at the Lake Arrowhead Chamber-sponsored luncheon last week at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club one of the topics she discussed was her intention to ask the other supervisors to support her wish to adopt an ordinance that would reduce the supervisors benefits.
She got her wish during the board’s Tuesday, Nov. 15 meeting when her colleagues joined her in unanimously supporting the proposal. The proposed Ordiance, if approved, would reduce their benefits package by almost 20 percent. For many years the board has compared their benefits to those received by Los Angeles County supervisors, she told the luncheon crowd last week. She said she strongly felt the board needed to make changes and base their benefits on more similar counties such as San Diego, Orange and nearby Riverside County.
The proposed ordinance would eliminate all County “pick-ups” of Supervisors’ retirement contributions, the County’s retirement medical trust fund contributions, the County’s salary savings plans matches and supplemental contributions, County-paid life insurance or variable group universal life insurance, long-term disability insurance, medical expense flexible spending account matches and portable communication device allowances. Eliminating the benefits would reduce the total annual compensation for individual board members by about $54,000.
According to a press advisory from her office following the vote, Rutherford requested the benefits reduction ordinance after this year’s Grand Jury report criticized the Supervisorial benefits package as “very generous.” Follow-up research showed that san Bernardino County Supervisors are eligible to receive the second highest total compensation among southern California supervisors–about $273,000–while Los Angeles County supervisors receive the highest at about $320,000. The proposed reduction would bring the total compensation package for individual San Bernardino County supervisors to approximately $218.000. That figure compares more to Riverside County supervisors who receives $227,000, $237,000 in Orange County and $215,000 in San Diego County.
“In this economic climate when our taxpayers are suffering and our budget is strapped, we cannot continue to accept benefits that are so egregiously out of line with the private sector,” said Rutherford.
According to the San Bernardino County Charter, only voters have the authority to establish supervisors’ base salaries, which are currently set by a measure voters approved in November 2006. However, Supervisors have the authority to create and approve their own benefits package.
The County Administrative Office will draft the ordinance and it will be brought back to the board for approval early next year.
“This is one step forward on the path of letting our residents know we are serious about changing the political culture or our County and restoring our region’s reputation. It also signals our understanding that times are tough and we have to lead our organizations in making tough cuts when we are asking employees to cut back as well,” Rutherford said.
State law prohibits reducing an elected official’s compensation while he/she is still in office, so the proposed ordinance would not impact current supervisors. However, they can individually agree to impose reductions on themselves prior to the end of the terms. If the proposed benefits reduction ordinance is adopted, Supervisor Rutherford stated she would agree to the reductions immediately.
After months of preparation the 13th Annual Lake Arrowhead Film Festival will be held this weekend, May 18-20 and the “headquarters” for all the “goings on” is the lovely Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa.
