Proposed pay hikes for Mendocino County sheriff, DA draw ire

Proposed raises of about 22 percent and 10 percent for Mendocino County’s district attorney and sheriff are not sitting well with rank-and-file county employees who are making less than they were five years ago, their labor representatives say.

The pay hikes - to be voted on by county supervisors Tuesday - would boost District Attorney David Eyster’s annual salary and benefits package from $194,751 to $236,172, and Sheriff Tom Allman’s from $254,817 to $278,483, according to county figures.

Employee unions say the proposed raises show the Board of Supervisors favors department management while giving short shrift to other employees.

The Deputy Sheriff’s Association and SEIU, which represent the bulk of the county’s roughly 1,100 employees, most recently received raises of 4 and 5 percent, respectively, spread over two to three years. The county claimed it couldn’t afford a larger increase, the unions said.

“It’s really in bad taste to do that,” SEIU representative Aaron Burton said of the proposed pay raises for the sheriff and D.A., which Supervisor Tom Woodhouse is bringing before his colleagues.

Employee groups say it’s reminiscent of the pay raise approved in 2014 for Chief Executive Officer Carmel Angelo, which boosted her base salary from $117,692 to $180,000.

District Attorney David Eyster first raised the issue of his pay in a February letter to the county.

“The compensation package I receive as Mendocino County’s elected District Attorney is inadequate and needs to be addressed,” Eyster wrote in the letter, stamped confidential. “It is not a pleasant feeling to have your work and achievements undervalued when compared to one’s prosecutorial peers, peers who in some instances put in less time and effort, and achieve lesser results.”

Sheriff Tom Allman said he has not requested a pay raise but said he won’t turn down the salary increase, which would effectively reverse the 10 percent cut he took in 2009 along with other county employees.

In support of his request, Eyster submitted a two-year-old comparison of 22 district attorney salaries in California counties with fewer than 100,000 people. The figures came from Transparent California, a fiscal watchdog organization.

It indicates his salary and benefits, listed as totaling $170,705 in 2013, are higher than district attorneys in 13 of those counties. The state controller’s office lists his total compensation package for 2013 as $175,411.

The county said those 2013 figures may not reflect increased retirement costs and other benefits paid by the county to Eyster, accounting for why they are lower than his current $194,751 compensation package. His salary has not increased since 2013, the county said.

In his letter, Eyster also contended his salary actually comes in dead last on the list if it’s divided by the county’s population, in which case, he’s paid just $1.95 per person in Mendocino County.

“Assuming the board of supervisors will be as shocked as I am at the information being provided, I trust they will want to take immediate steps to bring my compensation in line with that being paid as compensation to my peers,” he wrote.

Eyster also complained that although he is an elected official, the public defender in Mendocino County is paid only $55 a month less than he is and the appointed Willits police chief is paid only $5,000 a year less. They “are just two of the inequities in the compensation being paid the District Attorney,” he wrote.

He cited a number of reasons he should be compensated at a higher level than the public defender, including that his staff is larger, he has more duties and he is required to maintain a significant public presence, unlike the public defender.

“The above comments are just the beginning of a lengthy list of differences that should be discussed,” Eyster wrote.

He also noted his department generates money for the county through its program that allows defendants to reduce their felony marijuana-related charges to misdemeanors in exchange for making payments to law enforcement. The controversial program has earned an average of $100,000 a month for the sheriff’s office alone, Eyster’s letter states. It also generates income for police departments in the county.

The district attorney’s office in 2014 also seized $2.8 million in cash from defendants under asset forfeiture laws, according to its website.

Deputy Craig Walker, president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, said he has no problem in general with giving department heads raises. But “I think it should maybe be more equitable. Maybe give everyone 6 percent,” he said.

Woodhouse, the supervisor, said he’d like to give all county workers a large raise, but the county can’t afford to do so.

“I think our staff in Mendocino County are working at below-market wages compared to other counties and we’re asking them to do a lot of work,” he said. But he also believes Eyster is worth the extra money and that the county can’t afford to lose him.

“He’s very high-caliber and brings a lot of money into the county,” Woodhouse said.

Read the letter from Eyster to the county's chief executive officer: http://bit.ly/1IR37OV

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter