Solano supervisors to chat about longevity pay
FAIRFIELD — Paying employees extra based on years of service is either a recruitment and retention tool or a questionable use of money, depending on who in Solano County government you ask.
Supervisor Barbara Kondylis falls into the latter category. Solano County spent $3.2 million on what’s called longevity pay in fiscal year 2010-11, up from $3.18 million the previous year.
“For me it’s pay for taking up space,” Kondylis said.
Kondylis herself benefits from longevity pay. She earns $9,512 annually, the highest of anyone on the five-member Board of Supervisors. But Kondylis said she has tried, unsuccessfully, to eliminate it. She will try again Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Editorial
Longevity pay was established by the board in 1971 for all county employees. In 1994, an ordinance was passed to strip longevity pay from elected officials, but it was reversed in another ordinance in 2001. Also in 2001, supervisors were entitled to the same benefits as executive management.
All full-time county employees receive longevity pay, but after 10 years of service the increments are different and more lucrative for management. Management receive 5 percent longevity at 15 years, 7.5 percent at 20 years, 10 percent at 25 years, 12.5 percent at 30 years and 15 percent at 35 years. The percentages are of their base pay.
By contrast, low-level to midlevel employees get 5 percent at 20 years, 7.5 percent at 25 years and 10 percent at 30 years. They receive nothing at 15 years. Members of the Teamsters Local 150 and Deputy Sheriff’s Association do not receive longevity pay beyond 20 years.
Managers and elected officials can also use years of service from other government jobs. So a person who has worked for the city of Fairfield for 10 years, for instance, can receive longevity pay for 10 years when he or she starts with Solano County. The same does not apply to other employee groups.
“That’s something that troubles us,” said Jennifer Lariviere, chapter president of Solano County Service Employee International Union, Local 1021.
“We either lose talent or we won’t retain talent,” said county spokesman Steve Pierce, referring to what he thinks would happen if longevity pay went away.
Supervisor Mike Reagan said the amount of longevity pay needs to be put into context. There are 1,133 of about 2,400 county employees receiving the pay, amounting to an average of $2,840 a year per employee. The total amount of $3.2 million in longevity pay is part of overall payroll, which this fiscal year is budgeted at $275 million.
Reagan wants to take a look at compensation packages instead of isolating the discussion to one slice of the pie chart.
In this case, Reagan said, “You can’t pull a thread and unravel a whole sweater.”
On the board, Reagan and Chairwoman Linda Seifert are the two who do not receive longevity pay. Jim Spering does and it includes his time on the city council in Suisun City. As does John Vasquez, who counts years as an aide to former Supervisor Bill Carroll. Kondylis, who has been on the board since 1993, can also count her time on the Vallejo City Council.
The city of Vacaville, over time, has phased out its longevity pay. Kondylis said she wants to do the same. But her proposal Tuesday will likely be what she calls a compromise: create a standard rate of longevity pay for all employees that reduces the percentage and spaces the milestones out.
It could be her final attempt. If the motion fails, Kondylis would not be able to put the issue back on the agenda for a year. She is not running for re-election in June and leaves office in December.
“The history doesn’t matter,” Kondylis said. “It’s what we do going forward. Is it legal, is it fair and will it save money?”
Reach David DeBolt at 427-6935 or ddebolt@dailyrepublic.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=132879
Posted by David DeBolt
on Feb 6 2012.
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Instead of paying them more every year, pay them less. The idea of “longevity pay” for supervisors is ludicrous. Stop it now!