There may soon be a big payday for some Sacramento County politicians
SACRAMENTO — The five members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a pay increase for themselves, but many people in the community have concerns.
"No, they definitely don't need it," said Ionia Burton, a Sacramento resident.
"I'm actually stunned," said Alicia Kelley, another Sacramento resident.
The county hired a consultant to perform a salary survey and found that Sacramento supervisors are paid significantly less than their peers based on an average of eleven other California counties. But the counties they looked at included high-cost-of-living areas like San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa. You can view the numbers for those counties in this report.
It did not include Placer, El Dorado or Yolo counties, which are next to Sacramento.
"It makes sense to compare Sacramento County's cost of living to a comparable county with similar cost of living," said Bob Erlenbusch of the Regional Coalition for the Homeless. "Not we're down here, and here's the Bay Area"
According to the report, Sacramento's board members make a base salary of just over $123,000. The recommendation is to give them a 20% raise.
"I think they really need to reconsider that," Kelley said.
People think the money could be better spent.
"Our youth are a big thing because it turns into a problem," Burton said. "I think that's where those funds should be allocated."
"I don't think they deserve a 20% raise," Erlenbusch said.
Erlenbusch said elected officials should not be allowed to vote on giving themselves a raise and he would prefer their salaries be set by an independent commission, which is what the City of Sacramento does.
"It would seem to be a conflict of interest," he said.
Others think any raise should be based on their performance.
"I think they really need to re-examine what's going on in the community, if they seriously have done anything better with housing costs, with food costs, with the homeless crisis. All three strikes - no," Kelley said.
We reached out Monday to the supervisors but were unable to get any comment.
If passed, the new raises will cost an extra $173,000 a year and will take effect in June.