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Supervisor recaps last week’s meeting

This past Tuesday, the Mono County Board of Supervisors approved renewal of seven management employee contracts costing $1,372,220 (average $196,031 each).  The lowest cost contract is $158,193, the highest is $241,667.  The salary portion of these contracts is $809,868 (average $115,695 or $9,641/mo.).  The benefits/retirement cost is $562,352 (average $80,336 each).  Two of these seven contracts received raises, five had no increase.

The Board vote was 4 to 1 with me being the dissenting vote.  The principal reason for my dissent is the same as it has been for the last year regarding management contracts when they have come before the Board, and that is, the contracts are out of touch with the reality of the economy.  As an example, the non-salary portion of the contract ($80,336) is by itself higher than Mono County’s Area Median Income ($74,500 for a family of four).

While it is important in recruiting and maintaining good employees (and we do have good employees at all levels in the organization), the pendulum of exponentially increasing salaries and benefits has swung too far.  For example, in the January 2012 management salary survey (which surveyed 23 other counties), salaries have decreased 5% overall, employees have been laid off, and/or positions have been consolidated in these surveyed counties.

For the seven contracts (and the previous management contracts that have come up periodically during the last year), I have attempted to tackle the “swinging pendulum” with suggested contract amendments that would both protect the employee from potentially draconian salary decreases while bringing benefits into rational alignment with limited resources and public sentiment.  These amendments are:

1.  “Salary shall be increased or decreased in accordance with the management compensation policy; any decrease shall not be more than 2% yearly.”

(Presently, contracts only allow increases in pay; a one-way street.  The 2% cap helps protect the employee from draconian decreases.  Note no decrease is actually proposed.)

1.  “The 5% ‘merit pay’ shall be phased out in 12 equal reductions over 12 months.”

(‘Merit pay’ is over and above the normal salary.  While union employees have agreed to no step increases in their contracts to help see us through bad economic times, 5% “merit pay” continues for about 70% of management staff.)

1. “The management car allowance (currently $781/month, raised recently from $704/mo) shall be phased out in 12 equal reductions over 12 months.  Like other employees, an un-assigned pool car shall be used to conduct county business.  If a car has been assigned to an employee, such usage shall cease and an un-assigned pool car shall be used to conduct county business (public safety exempted).”

(Car allowance is unnecessary to conduct business since pool cars are available. Present contract wording also allows for personal commuting, and even out-of-county commuting, in assigned vehicles.  Additionally, there is an automatic adjustment in the car allowance, usually upward, based on the cost of gas, etc.  While most regular employees get to work at their own cost, management’s commuting is completely paid ad infinitum by taxpayers.)

Unfortunately, these amendments were not voted to be included in these contracts and so the exponentially increasing pendulum continues to swing. There are other concerns related to these contracts (such as why several contracts were pushed up many months from their normal due date, even before budget consideration in August) which I addressed at the Board meeting.

I remain committed to frugal and efficient government and will continue the effort to help advance public service as a well-respected endeavor.

Larry Johnston
Supervisor, District 1

Larry gives the big bird to fellow supervisors, employees 

“[Mono County employee] salaries are like the housing market,” stated Mono County Supervisor Larry Johnston this week. “They need an adjustment. It’s time for the adjustment to be made.” He likened the issue to a pendulum having swung too far to one side.

It’s something Johnston has been saying since he took office in 2010, but it seems that few agree and on Tuesday his consistent veto of employee contracts came to a head.

Inside a boardroom packed with County employees and very few members of the public, as Johnston attempted to filibuster his way through several portions of the afternoon agenda dealing with at-will employment contract amendments and renewals, the mood became tense.

“The benefits alone on some of these contracts are [worth] over $50,000,” Johnston railed. “Elsewhere, $50,000 would be a living wage. The Board has divorced itself from the rest of the world and the economy.”

The issue was raised by  Johnston when he took office. He pointed out that the at-will employee contracts did not allow for any decreases in pay, only increases. Johnston began to push for new wording in the contracts that would allow for decreases if necessary. He has also been pushing for a slow phase out of car allowances and changes to employee merit pay.

“We started trying to create a negotiating tool,” explained Supervisor Tim Hansen on Wednesday of the suggested decrease in salary language. “Right now our only option in hard times would be to lay people off.”

The remaining Board members and County staff, however, do not seem to agree.

“We’ve held tight long enough and it’s going to be okay. I’m seeing a light at the end of the tunnel” said Supervisor Vikki Bauer in regard to the County’s financial health. “I want to put a lid on this. We need to honor contracts and let employees focus on their work.”

She pointed out that the County had just added $500,000 to its reserve, but Johnston noted that the money was a one-time windfall from the settlement of the property tax dispute with Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. The County’s reserve is approximately $1.7 million now, down from $6.5 million a few years ago, according to Johnston.

“We accomplish a lot with at-will employees,” added Supervisor Hap Hazard. “What they save us in problems is phenomenal. It is important that employees feel secure.”

“I don’t want to lose the talent we have in the County,” said Supervisor Byng Hunt. “We can’t ignore our employees. They’ve had frozen salaries for the past two years.”

The County’s Chief Administrative Officer, Jim Arkens agreed, “I am firmly behind our at-will employees.” He added that these employees had “stepped up and saved the County at least $1 million.”

When asked to break down that $1 million savings, Arkens explained he was referring to the cost savings that have come from several department heads consolidating positions. For example, Arkens not only serves as the CAO, but he is also the County’s HR Director and Public Works Director, which saves the County approximately $450,000 in salaries and benefits that it would have to spend if it filled these positions individually. The contract amendments on the table at Tuesday’s Board meeting for Salcido, Tiede and Sherman each save the County about $200,000. The combination of those four contracts make up the $1 million saving Arkens was referencing.

The decrease language that Johnston has been requesting has been put into the contracts of two new management employees, but Arkens doesn’t think it is a feasible option.

“We need to negotiate at the time of a crisis, but we’re not in crisis mode,” he said in a follow-up phone call on Wednesday. “It’s not the time to slash and burn.”

Arkens added that the County at-will employees have taken the same cuts as the unions. Plus, he said, the union contracts don’t have the decrease in pay language either.

“I like flexibility too, but let’s treat everyone the same,” Arkens said.

While Johnston agreed that contracts could be revisited during tough financial times, his point was part of a bigger picture.

“This isn’t about employee performance,” Johnston said. “I am not proposing draconian decreases to anyone’s salary, I just want to remain in a reserved position until we are sure of our welfare. We serve the public and the public does not like outrageous salaries for public employees.”

Examples of Johnston’s opinion of outrageous salary were the contracts before the Board on Tuesday. Two contracts were being amended to give the employees connected to them a raise in pay because they had taken on additional duties. A third contract amendment for the Director of Social and Mental Health Services was tabled until further closed session discussions were completed.

Rita Sherman went from Director of Risk Management to Director of Facilities and Risk Management. Lynda Salcido went from Director of Public Health to Director of Public Health and Interim EMS Chief.

The Director of Facilities and Risk Management costs the County approximately $205,990 per year of which $126,000 is salary, $27,594 is the employer’s portion of PERS, and $52,396 is the cost of benefits. According to the agenda, it is a $5,979 annual cost increase over her existing contract.

The Director of Public Health and Interim EMS Chief costs the County approximately $206,428 of which $126,000 is salary, $27,594 is the employer’s portion of PERS, and $52,834 is the cost of benefits. This contract is an annual increase of $15,592 over the existing contract. This amendment is temporary until the EMS position is filled.

Arkens made it clear that the two women had not requested the raises, but that by giving these two women increases for the extra work they are now doing, and not filling the management positions they are covering, the County is saving a large sum of money — approximately $381,068.

Aggregation of contracts

Five other employee contracts were on Tuesday’s Board agenda. These five were simply renewals with no change in pay, but they raised another set of related issues among the Board.

County employee contracts are renewed at different times throughout the year. On Tuesday’s agenda, prior to the approval of these five contracts, was a discussion regarding the aggregation of employment renewals, with the idea being to approve all at-will employee contracts at one time in the year, rather than stringing them out.

“The idea is to do all the contracts at one time so that we don’t have to be bashed throughout the year,” Arkens, an at-will employee himself, said on Wednesday.

“It’s damaging to individuals to have to sit and listen to this,” Hazard said on Tuesday.

Supervisors Johnston and Hansen saw the issue a bit differently.

“Approving contracts that are not due until November is unconscionable,” Johnston said on Tuesday.

“You’re trying to put a lid on Larry’s opinion,” Hansen added. “While listening to him might get annoying, I agree [with him].”

Johnston agreed on Wednesday that an aggregation of contracts was indeed a ploy to keep him quiet. “It only allows me to talk once a year, like yesterday [Tuesday] rather than throughout the year.”

Even with the two supervisor’s objections, the rest of the Board decided to move forward with the renewal of the five contracts on the agenda. The contract expiration dates ranged from April to November 2012.

While the majority of the department heads present at the meeting did not speak up, Finance Director Brian Muir’s patience with Johnston seemed to wear thin as the Board reviewed his contract, which was not set to expire until November. Johnston made a point to state that, according to the salary survey the Board had reviewed that tallied 23 counties, Muir was being paid $2,000 more per month than an average Auditor/Controller.

Muir pointed out that the survey covered the salaries of Auditor/Controllers, but that he had many other additional responsibilities and titles, including Treasurer/Tax Collector. “I’m not complaining about my pay, but I am not afraid to say that I earn it,” Muir said testily.

The County’s Assistant District Attorney Tim Kendall also spoke via teleconference from Bridgeport.

“At-will employees don’t have civil servant protection and in turn are able to negotiate their contracts,” Kendall said. “Other labor units didn’t give up that protection. It costs more to get rid of them then any perks you give at-will employees.”

Former County CAO and current Mammoth Lakes Town Manager Dave Wilbrecht spoke out as a citizen.

“You are not in dire straits,” Wilbrecht said. “The employees are doing your arms and legs work and you can’t find this caliber of employee in town. It is tough to incentivize people to come here. Don’t beat up your best team, it will come back to haunt you.”

Wilbrecht added that before the end of 2010, the County had a “wonderful Board.” But then things changed.

“There is a lot of angst now, which is why I took the offer with the Town,” he said. “Now people are afraid that if someone has a bad cold their contracts won’t be renewed.”

When asked on Wednesday if he thought Wibrecht’s comments were directed at him specifically, Johnston said that was how he took it.

“It was inappropriate for him to say I was the reason he left the County,” Johnston said.

“We need to be a little more respectful of all of our employees,” Arkens concluded on Wednesday. “We don’t need to trash them repeatedly. A lot of our management team could retire tomorrow. They continue doing it [working for the County] because they love it.”

Arkens added that Johnston used to be an at-will employee for the County prior to his election to the Board.

All contracts on Tuesday’s agenda were approved with a 4-1 vote.

Johnston says slash fees, spur development

Stimulus packages aren’t just for big government, and during Tuesday’s regular Board meeting in Mammoth, District 1 Mono County Supervisor Larry Johnston rolled out a Construction Stimulus Proposal to spur local building and development.

Johnston’s plan was made up of three parts: (1) elimination of Development Impact Fees (DIF), which was a plank in his platform while running for office; (2) elimination of building permit fees for energy-related improvements, such as solar panels, energy-efficient water heaters, window replacements, insulation, etc.; and (3) for a limited time period, such as 12 months, waive building permit fees for single family (stick-built) homes completed within an 18-month period.

“There’s a great sense of despair in the construction sector of the economy, which is probably the lowest it’s been in 20 years or more. People have had to leave town, it’s been very destructive,” Johnston said in his presentation remarks. “I believe this is something government can do and with minimal cost. If we can get some projects on the tax rolls, that would employ people, including some who would otherwise leave the area.”

New construction is to some degree based on national as opposed to local trends, but Johnston is convinced that some changes in the building code would help get shovels into Mono County ground. “Lack of development has as much impact on the [economy] as overdevelopment.”

Supervisor Byng Hunt was wary of scrapping DIF. “If we eliminate it, we have to refund the money already collected,” Hunt said. “If done properly, DIF has proven to be a benefit to many communities around California. There is definite value in having fees in place to offset the costs of development.” Hunt charged that Mammoth Lakes has dramatically dropped its DIF fees, and seen little or no effect on housing starts.

None of the capital projects which were slated to have been paid for in part by DIF revenues are going forward, Johnston said. At the rate things are going, he theorized it could take literally hundreds of years to collect enough fees to fund waiting projects.

He also railed at a later agenda item regarding updating the fee schedule. “Why should we spend $20,000 to update it? Is the fee going down with a new Capital Improvement Program? It’s only going to go up,” he said. Taking issue with Hunt’s note about refunding money, Johnston pointed out, “It’s not our money; it never was.”

“The reason for the slowdown is the economy,” Supervisor Tim Hansen opined. “We could be shooting ourselves in the foot and lose what little building fees we are getting. Maybe we have to define ‘impact.’ Subdivisions generate impact. I just think we can’t dump the whole thing.”

Supervisor Vikki Bauer restated her long-running stand against DIF fees, and reminded Hansen that the community of Lee Vining recently fought tooth and nail to be exempted from DIF. “And I don’t support spending money to revise [the fee schedule],” Bauer stated. “It’s going to be a money pit and a bureaucratic quagmire. We have, what … enough money to put in half a curb down about half of one side of a street?”

Chair Hap Hazard, however, has a different perspective. His district has roughly 250 lots approved for building, and with that in mind posited that the County’s approach to DIF is not ill-conceived, though he acknowledged it hasn’t been done appropriately. “I’ve got lots approved for building. Those homes are going to put a demand on the County for services,” Hazard said. “I’m not supportive of moving away from DIF as a whole. I think we need to look at what we need countywide.”

Tim Flynn, new Mammoth Contractors Association President, said the key word is stimulus. “You have to have a project to apply the fees to,” Flynn said. “The current fees aren’t doing anything anyway. From the private sector, I’d rather work than not. [The fees] are affecting whether people are building; numerous costs are going up.” In Mammoth, Flynn pointed to a preponderance of remodel projects, though he said there are some new homes pending, estimating that about 5 single-family permits have been pulled.

A $20,000 update of the DIF schedule met with some pushback, at least in terms of where the money’s spent. The majority of the Board seems to be banking on building and development coming back, splitting 3-2 on whether the schedule should be revised, with Bauer and Johnston dissenting. Having directed staff to proceed with the revision, that move was tempered by the consensus that the money would be better spent in-house, as opposed to hiring a consultant.

County Counsel Marshall Rudolph advised that the County also is prohibited from using any of the already-banked $296,000 in DIF to fund the revision, last updated in 2005. If the County is going to file a revised schedule, it has until the end of this fiscal year, since the 5-year legal window is getting ready to close.

Given the new CalGreen Title 24 standards that went into effect Jan. 1, the Board directed staff to proceed with developing language for Johnston’s green building proposals in items 2 & 3.

Chair Hazard also asked to add housing mitigation for removal consideration, which according to Rudolph technically qualifies as a form of DIF. “Let’s put a freeze on housing mitigation costs and process,” Hazard suggested. Bauer scoffed at the idea, saying that affordable housing fees amount to $300, a pittance compared to DIF, which can run $5,000. Affordable housing fees, she cited, only make a difference when building homes with a square footage of 2,500 or more. Housing mitigation is set for an April 19 Board review.

As for refunds, staff is also working on digging through building permit records to figure out who paid what; however, per the Board, it appears that no refunds will be issued until the fee schedule revision is completed.

Larry Johnston said he plans to run for Mono County District 1 Supervisor. (Submitted photo)

If you’re a kid in Mammoth, you’ve probably been in Larry Johnston’s garage at Halloween. For nearly 20 years, he has built an elaborate haunted house that has become the stuff of legend. Remember “Jurassic Park?” A committed little league coach and avid cyclist, he’s also an impressive float designer, having entered a number of memorable floats in the Fourth of July parade.
Hobbies aside, Johnston has also exhibited a keen interest in local politics, and decided to put his experience and creative vision toward a bid for District 1 Supervisor for Mono County during next year’s elections.
No stranger to county politics, Johnston currently serves as Assistant Director of Mono County’s Community Development Department, where he has facilitated community-based planning efforts and lobbied to streamline government operations. Prior to his tenure as a public servant with Mono County, he led an independent planning consulting firm located in Mammoth Lakes.
With experience both in the private and public sector, Johnston thinks he has the skills to bring a positive change in county government. “I’m not a status quo thinker,” he said. “With proper leadership, the County can facilitate sustainable job creation, streamline permitting, help stabilize the tourism base, invest in recreation and alternative transportation, and fairly proportion County funds to better serve District 1 taxpayers and residents.”
Supervisor Tom Farnetti, who currently holds the District 1 seat, told The Sheet on Thursday he made the decision about two weeks ago not to run for re-election. Farnetti, a member of the Board for the past 16 years, said he thinks the Board and County staff have both done great work, and will leave the Board while things are stable and in pretty good shape. “I want to enjoy some time with my family,” Farnetti said. “Besides, new blood is good. It brings new ideas and I think with the people that either are running or have expressed interest, the district will have some good candidates to look at by election time.”
“If I were to be elected I would resign my current position,” Johnston told The Sheet. Johnston is prohibited from holding both positions by law. “I’m not certain if would actually retire or not,” he added.
If no clear winner is apparent in the June 2010 primary election, who wins the seat will be determined by a runoff race during the November 2010 general election.