Besides voting no on both of Supervisor John Haschak’s proposals for the Board to take modest pay or benefits cuts proportionate to other county departments, Supervisor Maureen Mulheren’s only contribution to Tuesday’s discussion was to tell Supervisor Haschak to stop bringing up the Board’s budget and salaries. Haschak had informally suggested that the Board take pay and benefit cuts before, but on Tuesday, he proposed formal agenda items. Such discussions obviously make Mulheren uncomfortable because not only is it obvious that her pay is way out of proportion to her performance, but that she and her colleagues are totally tone deaf to their own public perception.
Newly seated Supervisors Bernie Norvell and Madeline Cline were against any cuts too, But at least they offered lame excuses. Mulheren offered nothing but her scolding of Haschak. Norvell and Cline were worried about all the “work” it would take for staff to modify the Supervisors’ pay ordinance to reflect Haschak’s proposal. Everybody agreed that the Supervisors are oh-so conservative with their spending on themselves for “training” and “travel” and would never ever waste money on unnecessary stuff and they will continue to monitor their spending on a quarterly basis, just like they’ve never done before. Apparently their $110k base salary just isn’t enough for them to pay for training and travel and conferences out of pocket. They also insist that their salaries continue to be tied to their department head salaries — salaries the Board sets in a perfect conflict of interest circle. This sneaky little provision was inserted at their last pay raise discussion so that they, especially Mulheren, can avoid talking about their pay raises directly by giving themselves raises by proxy via their department head “bargaining unit” via “negotiations” with themselves.
Haschak made two motions. The first was to make relatively a small reduction of about $20k in the board’s total training and travel budget. That one failed 4-1 with Haschak the only vote in favor. Haschak’s second motion, to reduce board salaries a little, from about $110k to about $103k also failed, but with Supervisor Williams voting in token support knowing that his three other colleagues were dead set against any Board budget cuts.
Board watcher and former county employee Dee Pallesen told the Board that staff was very aware of the distress the Board’s across the board departmental budget cuts have had and that it would look bad if the Board didn’t at least take token cuts themselves. Her arguments were, as usual, ignored.
After the vote Supervisor Mulheren had this testy exchange with Supervisor Haschak:
Mulheren: We have many conversations up here on the dais and some of them are, um, agenda items and some of them we talk about them when we talk about the budget. I just think that in consideration of the processes and in consideration of staff time and consideration of, um, the way that the, uh, county moves forward as an agency, I would personally appreciate it if we would not have agenda items come forward multiple times after they were already not approved.
Haschak: How many times have you seen this agenda item on an agenda?
Mulheren: I’m not asking to have a conversation or a debate about it. We have…
Haschak: But your comments were…
Mulheren: We have had conversations…
Haschak: How many times have you seen this as an agenda item?
Mulheren: This is the first time that this has been an agenda item, Supervisor. But it is not the first time that the discussion has been had by this Board this year.
Haschak: I understand. But it’s the first time it’s come as an agenda item. OK? (Stares at his computer)
Supervisor Cline: I just want to pause for a second and ask that this board make a conscious effort not to interrupt speakers in the middle of comments. I have seen that happen multiple times by different individuals and I just ask for some decorum.
Supervisor Mulheren’s “in consideration” word salad, especially our favorite, “in consideration of the processes,” is typical of her passive-aggressive style. Instead of just saying, “Hey John, why do you keep bringing this up? We’ve turned you down several times now. I don’t know where you’ve been, but we are not reducing our salaries, so just shut up about it,” Mulheren has to pretend to be worried about “processes,” and “staff time” and “the way the county moves forward as an agency.”
It’s probably wishful thinking, but we hope Haschak brings the board salaries up again at the next Budget update since they all claim to be interested in tracking their spending and keeping it in check.
“Are we still talking about Epstein?”
We need to protest these salaries until they start doing their jobs.
This is a joke that is not a joke. These lovely public servants scrabble and fight in conjunction with the CEO to deny employee COLAs. WHAT? Know a percentage of county staff who have exceeded pay step increases. After 5 years an employee is STEPPED OUT. Only way to get a raise is a COLA at that point. There are 20 year+ employees barely making a few pennies over $20 an hour. BOS they shamelessly take their pay not considering outward appearance or effects. It busts morale and motivation of those below your pay level to be chronically dismissed and un heard. Managers do a lot of talking. Endless meetings. Figuring out how to roll out a dress code now, have spent months on that endeavor. If function could supercede micromanagement, uninformed actions, show some outcomes from the efforts it could settle the growing panel of critics. Enough is enough gotta roll the sleeves up. A pay cut so be it at 100k plus you are still paid well above most county residents…oh except upper management!
This is all very hard to read for former county employees
That have lost their jobs for unknown reasons not related to job performance. I agree that much of county
management needs improvement.
The department I worked for has lost many good people.
Employees that did their jobs and more.
Yes Carl! It is beyond sad. Excessive amounts of time spent resulting in NOTHING. Managers rarely if ever connect with any soul below. Only time they will connect is to belittle, dismiss, demean or fire. If you speak up for something to actually get accomplished WATCH OUT. Fire or punish all who question the insanity. One staff reports asking for changes, more skills, more training for new staff. They were promptly suspended and moved to different positions rather than expose and face another wrongful termination suit. The list of lawsuits involving the county is in the hundreds. Many former staff and a good share still tapping the pocketbook they are suing.
That about says it all, I’d say, writing as another former County staff. Many good, caring, hard-working staff at the direct service level. Losing “many good people” is a sad story for the County and its people.
Yes too many good employees have been treated poorly
by management. I saw it in the Ag department. It is a terrible experience to be told to turn in your keys and county ID and leave. Others have had the same experience.
Just ‘Measure K’ these knuckleheads – San Bernardino 2020 style.
[Measure K, Board of Supervisors Salary Reduction and Term Limits Charter Amendment (November 2020)]
Capped supervisor compensation at $60,000/year
Limited them to a single 4-year term
Election results
516,184 (YES) – 66.84%
256,098 (NO) – 33.16%
Time for a haircut.
Agreed 100, 1000 percent. That is a major reason why we do struggle so. Incompetent souls locked in to positions never to be questioned. They hold the power and KNOWLEDGE (or lack therefore of) and are not to be questioned. Look at the lengthy tenure of Eyster, MO, Ted, CEOs, Sheriff. The lock em down and dumb it all down, a preferred tactic. Meanwhile roads crumble, we have a terrible OD rate, the budget is busted, few functional staff exist. It’s all shiny and perfect. NEVER YOU MIND!
I have a dream that one day — when these folks stop taking our county hostage — all the displaced public servants will trickle out of the hills and finally give our County’s residents what they deserve.
We will raise a beacon! And all these snakes will slither back into the shadows from whence they came!!
Work ethic, integrity and truth are forgotten words in the current BOS and management cesspool
I absolutely agree — but now what? Our county will never go beyond survival mode.
If our supervisors want to redeem themselves, they MUST (better late than never!!) hold the executive office accountable and see where all the obvious conflicts of interest are. For example, if you want happier employees, start by making sure HR isn’t under the EOs influence….and DON’T initiate a hiring freeze that only punishes front line workers and tanks their already low morale. This is obvious stuff, guys! And Fiscal!! Oohhh Fiscal!
SO — PLEASE turn a new page and if you can’t do it, will you at least move out of the way so someone else can?
The aristocracy of the BOS and county management is on public display.
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