Majority of Merced County Supervisors reject pay raise, amid COVID-19 economic strain
Amid economic pains caused by the coronavirus pandemic, four of Merced County’s five Board of Supervisors members chose to refuse an automatic salary increase.
The 3.46% raise went into effect July 6, lifting the board’s base salary to $116,313, according to County Public Information Officer Mike North.
District 4 Supervisor Lloyd Pareira declined the raise, while Supervisors Rodrigo Espinoza of District 1, Daron McDaniel of District 3 and Scott Silveira of District 5 each opted to reduce their pay by 5%.
District 2 Supervisor Lee Lor was the only board member to accept the automatic raise. Lor could not be reached by the Sun-Star for comment.
“It didn’t feel right to take a raise when we’re making cuts,” Pareira said. “It’s only right that we all share in the good times and we all share in the bad times,” he added.
The Board of Supervisors passed a proposed 2020-21 Merced County budget last month that cut eight occupied county jobs and eliminated 70 vacant positions. Lor and Espinoza each voted against the cuts, but they still passed with a majority vote.
“The toughest vote since I’ve been a supervisor was when we eliminated the positions,” McDaniel said. “I don’t want to make those calls.”
County Executive Officer Jim Brown said at the time that the choice to eliminate positions was made to reduce expenses as soon as possible. The reductions save the county an estimated $1.8 million. More job reductions down the road are possible, Brown said.
“The board members are absolutely taking this coronavirus seriously, and really understanding that the revenues coming in are smaller than they are normally,” McDaniel said.
Those supervisors who spoke with the Sun-Star said that when they were notified of the July salary increase, each rejected it on account of feeling it wasn’t right to accept a raise on the heels of eliminating county positions.
“Our decisions as a board, they have real world consequences for folks,” Silveira said.
With the uncertainty inflicted by COVID-19 hanging over a future, Silveira said there is no way of knowing whether furlough days, layoffs and reductions in pay could be coming down the pipeline.
“It’s kind of a way of letting my actions speak louder than my words,” Silveira said of rejecting the raise.
County Supervisor salaries are set at 54.2% of Superior Court Judge salaries. When judge salaries increase, the increase is automatically applied to the Board of Supervisors’ pay the first full pay period of the following fiscal year.
The system is commonly used in counties to depoliticize board pay and keep Supervisors from being in a position to set their own salary adjustments.
While Lor is still receiving the automatic salary boost as of Wednesday, board members may reduce their pay at any time.
Lor could not be reached to comment on why she accepted the raise or whether she intends to reduce her pay.
County Supervisors said difficult calls will continue to be made by the board, especially as the county budget nears finalization in September.
Fiscal impacts of the virus
Coronavirus caused many of the county’s plans to come to a screeching halt.
Merced County unemployment improved slightly in June to 15.7% after spiking in April to 18.7%. But June’s numbers didn’t fully account for the second round of workplace closures ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom as COVID-19 cases spiked across California.
Pareira said he was proud of his colleagues who declined their raises, noting that it showed the spirit of the board is in the right place. Pareira said that while times are hard and may get harder, he is optimistic about the future.
“The people of Merced County are resilient,” he said.
