County CEO gets more in cashed-out vacation, sick time than most Mercedians earn in a year

Merced County’s top administrator sold back vacation and sick time in 2017 and took home an extra $30,950, more than the per capita salary for a county resident, according to records obtained this week by the Sun-Star.

CEO Jim Brown was just one of hundreds of employees who sold back vacation and sick hours, but he took home far more than any other employee, records show. The county paid out a total of $1.4 million to its more than 1,600 eligible employees, about $400,000 more than the previous year, according to records.

The average per capita income in Merced County is $19,130, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census.

Employees who are considered “A-level managers” and aren’t represented by a union receive the most money in sellbacks. County records show that 17 managers, many of whom are department heads, cashed out more than $165,000 in unused sick and vacation time.

The average manager took home about $9,700 from the sellback program. All of the A-level managers also received car and other allowances.

Cashing in vacation and sick time is common among public sector jobs but not for the private sector, according to David Wolfe, the legislative director for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit that advocates for lower taxes and limited government.

“I can’t think of any private sector industry that allows it,” he said. “The taxpayers end up subsidizing all of that.”

Brown has told the Sun-Star that 2015, when he cashed out $40,000, was the first time he sold back the vacation and sick hours. Last year, he collected $23,000 through the program. Brown was not available for comment on Wednesday, according to Mike North, the county spokesman.

Supervisor Lloyd Pareira said the sellbacks are a “compensation value” used to attract employees. He praised Brown, calling him “talented and hard-working.”

“Jim Brown probably works between 10 and 12 hours a day,” he said on Wednesday. “He’s usually the first one in the office. ... He works harder and more hours than anyone I know.”

North called the practice “very common” and said benefits like the sellback program help the county recruit employees with skills and retain those with experience. The sellbacks come with different stipulations depending on how long the employee has been with the county, he said.

Paying out smaller amounts of vacation hours at the end of each year, North said, keeps the county from having to pay out a lump sum accrued by employees who saved them up throughout their time with the county.

Some employees of the county did not sell back unused sick or vacation time, including Public Defender David Elgin, Director of Human Services Scott Pettygrove and Librarian Amy Taylor.

Elected officials like District Attorney Larry Morse II ($12,851), Tax Collector Karen Adams ($9,421) and Registrar of Voters Barbara Levey ($10,396), who do not punch a time clock or accrue sick or vacation time, also cashed in on the program.

Sheriff Vern Warnke was the only elected official not to cash in on the program, and has not in his previous two years in office. He said he was eligible for about $14,000, but felt “weird” about cashing in vacation time he had not accrued.

Warnke said he sold back earned vacation and sick time when he worked patrol, but noted elected officials don’t earn those hours.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to have the money. My lovely bride would like to have the money,” he said. “When I don’t earn it, how can I cash in on it?”

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 6:55 PM with the headline "County CEO gets more in cashed-out vacation, sick time than most Mercedians earn in a year."