Budget forecasts raises for Ventura County workers [Ventura County Star, Calif.]

Nov. 09--A budget review projects a 3 percent salary increase for more than half of Ventura County government's employees in the next fiscal year.

It's been nearly five years since most county employees received raises, officials said. Employees represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers, Service Employees International Union and management will receive the increases.

The county is still negotiating with various labor unions to determine additional employees who will be considered for the raise, officials said. The 3 percent increase is made up of a 1 percent merit increase for eligible employees and a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment, county Chief Financial Officer Paul Derse said.

He estimated about 5,000 employees will be affected once labor negotiations are completed.

Projections show employees also would be eligible for merit increases within their salary range in the 2015-16 fiscal year.

Based on multiple assumptions, officials project retirement costs to flatten out by the 2017-18 fiscal year, with total increases at $5.6 million, down from $19 million budgeted in this fiscal year and $11 million forecast for 2014-15. Derse said the stabilization of retirement costs is partially linked to the county's decision to negotiate salaries into next year's budget, but it is not a direct correlation.

"The retirement bubble is being overcome. The huge increases that we had in a row over the years are subsiding, and the reductions give us a little more breathing room," Derse said.

County Human Resources Director Kelly Shirk said the county is preparing a market-based survey next year that will examine salary trends and practices of public agencies statewide.

"We do this to see what the going rate is and to make sure our positions are placed at the current market rate," Shirk said.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the county's first-quarter budget report, which projected a balanced general fund of $921 million. Officials project overall revenues to be slightly short of budgeted amounts, less than 1 percent, but offset by cost savings primarily by salaries and employee benefits, Derse said.

Supervisors also adopted several current budget changes that include three new positions within the Health Care Agency, the elimination of 17 positions in the Probation Department that have been vacant for several years and a return of property tax administration fees to cities in Ventura County.

The county overcharged cities administration fees in the fiscal 2006-07 year because the formula used to calculate the tax was not the same formula adopted in a Supreme Court opinion, according to a board letter. The potential liability from the Supreme Court's decision was $3 million.

County lawyers are negotiating with cities to ensure payments will be made.

County Executive Officer Mike Powers said the county's five-year forecast is a nod to the county workforce's cooperation and conservative spending during a time of belt-tightening. Powers commended staff members for their work during a time when the county is faced with shifts in responsibilities related to state public safety and federal health care reform.

"In the next couple of years, there will be more challenges," Powers said, "but we feel like they're manageable because of the good work that's happening."

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