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Instant polls of various OC constituencies
A mea culpa from me
September 20th, 2007, 10:02 am · 8 Comments · posted by PEGGY LOWE
Got a little blowback yesterday from my story about the supes sweetening their own retirement plans while moving to cut the deputies’ pensions. Their reaction? Well, as my Dad, a native Nebraskan, would say: “I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count.”
Let’s just say I got a couple of cranky phone calls from the Fifth Floor.
The first shot came early yesterday morning when an apparently angry Supe John Moorlach fired off a mass email saying he doesn’t get the acrued leave benefit that I mentioned.
Here’s my mea culpa: Moorlach’s right about the acrued leave issue and I’m wrong. As The Liberal OC’s Chris Prevatt writes, I was checking with County CEO Tom Mauk yesterday about this issue and I heard back from him this morning.
For the record, the rest of the story stands.
– Peggy Lowe
As Mauk put it to me, I was “halfway right and halfway wrong” on the acrued leave. Executives and appointed officials did get that new benefit. For background, you can look at what I looked at, which is the 2003 memo that outlines what executives — including the Board of Supervisors — get on page A20. That lead me to believe the supes were included in the leave benefit, which allows employees to sell back those hours to hike overall compensation.
But Mauk says that’s not accurate.
“It does not apply to elected officials because they don’t get annual leave so they don’t acrue annual leave,” Mauk said.
OK, I’ll do a correction.
The rest of Moorlach’s email (viewable via Red County) says that oil is trading at $82 a barrel and that he sure would like to talk to the unions about deferred compensation packages versus those pensions they now get. The oil barrel price is a reference to the supes upping their own car allowance to $765 a month.
When questioned by KOCE yesterday, Moorlach said that perhaps the vote came at a bad time, but that he still wanted to approve the larger contract that called for a wage increase for the members of the Orange County Employees Association.
To update what Prevatt lists as the supes’ benefits (he used one of my old stories), board members have had a raise since that was published. They now make $137,321 a year, according to Pat Markley, the county’s PR flack. (My request on that issue also made some of those guys up on the Fifth Floor pretty angry. They see all media requests.)
So there’s my story about the story.
– Peggy Lowe
September 20th, 2007 at 11:19 am
It doesn’t change the fact that Moorlach and the rest increased their pension contribution by 33 percent while attempting to cut the deputies pensions by the same margin.
September 20th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
The pension issue combined with the outrageously expensive office renovations remind me that fiscal conservatives only tighten the purse strings when they and their buddies aren’t benefiting.
September 20th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
As usual with most things related to the county and the availabity of information, what we have access to is often confusing and sometimes misleading. I had the same problem with the question of whether the Sheriff got the 3@50 pension.
Thanks for the updated numbers, I’ll try to get them corrected soon on TheLiberalOC.
The fact still remains, the spiked their pensions by 33% on the same day Moorlach went after the deputies pensions.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
As the BOS moves ahead with this proposal, I would like to see each and every invoice these attorneys submit to the county. Peggy, if you could publish this information many of us would appreciate it. I’ll even buy you and Martin lunch!
September 20th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Peggy’s quote: “They now make $137,321 a year, according to Pat Markley, the county’s PR flack. (My request on that issue also made some of those guys up on the Fifth Floor pretty angry.”
What are they angry about?
1. That they “only” make $137,321 a year?
2. That you asked and would, presumably, inform your readers what they make?
Hmmmm. So much for the “transparency” John Moorlach likes to talk about
September 21st, 2007 at 1:30 pm
The yet unmitigated arrogance of the fith floor is stunning. Moorlach and the weak ones who have followed have no legal leg to stand on. The emporer has no clothes. In addition to the DA’s office research saying so and at least 2 law firms now repeating it, I can tell you that I found the same thing when looking at the case law following his theory.I am sure he is in his newly decorated suite right now planning his next contorted and ill prepared move. I am confident though in the notion that activists, donors and taxpayers see this very clearly. I have not seen such a unifying pol. blunder in a long time around these parts. There is another remodel comming on the 5th floor.
September 21st, 2007 at 3:45 pm
The circus continues in OC…so glad to be out of the political frenzy and the corrupt politics. Unfortunately, Orange County has the unique ability to waste millions of dollars (does anyone rembmer the bankruptcy?) without batting an eyelash. Does a County with 34 municipalities really need 17,000+ employees. I’m not against public employees per se, but what does the County really have to do that requires this much personnel?
The only thing that never changes is the hypocrisy at the top…the inmates are running the asylum.
The taxpayers should ask for a complete total compensation analysis for all employees…that’s the true cost. Then maybe, employee’s would finally realize the true value of their benefit packages and appreciate their good fortune.
September 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 pm
hey left oc—- get a clue—– our quality of life is due in a large part to the blanket of gov service we get—I have lived all over the world and US– we have pretty damn good fire, police, public health etc– I remain grateful–I have had to use them. They deserve a county where the elected folks don’t stab them in the back, period.