By DJ Becker TheMaderaNews.com
Residents of Madera County are shocked and angered by what they call another excessive raise for the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and other elected officials such as the District Attorney and Sheriff. A referendum petition is being circulated to demand the repeal of the raise ordinance at 10 AM, Tuesday at the BOS meeting on February 7th and requesting a special meeting be called so that the public can have time to further comment and the two newly seated supervisors can vote on the record on the issue.
In late December, five days before Christmas, residents say the 2022 board of supervisors drafted and placed an ordinance to increase their salaries to a higher percentage or 55% of the salaries paid to superior court judges salary, effectively giving themselves a $30,000 or more annual salary raise depending on longevity pay. The ordinance was passed by a three-to-two vote with David Rogers, Tom Wheeler and Brett Frazier voting in favor of the increases.
Madera supervisors typically work part-time, have full-time staff, and are currently paid approximately $97,000 or more a year in salary, depending on their longevity plus other benefits,. Under the new ordinance, the new starting salary range for a supervisor will be $127,000, with the District Attorney and Sheriff of Madera County being paid up to $231,000, after their annual salary increases of approximately $45,000, according to residents’ calculations. Emails and calls in January by The Madera News requesting clarification, confirmation, or comment from the CAO Jay Varney and BOS have not been returned.
The new basis for the annual salaries for the BOS, and other elected officials takes effect on the 18th of February if the ordinance is not repealed for further discussion by board Chairman David Rogers on Tuesday.
Raises for the DA, and Sheriff are already in effect.
Residents claim that placing the item on the calendar in late December was no coincidence and yet another example of more “backroom deals”, and the raise was intended to be quietly slipped in and buried in regular business at a time when most residents were distracted with the Christmas holiday or out-of-town.
Of the three 2022 supervisors who voted for the new ordinance, Tom Wheeler and Brett Frazier, were also conveniently no longer on the board, according to residents, and therefore would not be subject to public outcry or scrutiny.
Other residents also questioned the experience, education, and transparency of current Chief Administrative Officer Jay Varney, formerly sheriff, to run an operation with a challenged budget and county as large as Madera County.
Some mid-level management bargaining groups are reportedly frustrated and discussing the need for an independent audit of the county’s finances, due to changing financial information and the county’s ongoing claims of no funds available for employee raises.
Supervisors have also recently been criticized for reportedly spending over $60,000 at their annual three-day management conference at The Pines Resort and Spa in Bass Lake in 2022, and over $1 million on the huge, granite Madera County sign perched high above Highway 41. Residents have referred to the roadside sign as ugly, a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, and another splendid example of poor judgment by supervisors.
City of Madera resident and developer Mike Pistoresi asked, “Why are they (the board of Supervisors) trying to hide it from the public by putting the raise on the Consent Calendar? And what makes them think they are entitled to such a large salary, being in one of the poorer counties of California? Also, what did they do with the $30 million in (federal) Covid relief funds they got? Pistoresi said.
Dan Metz, a member of the Sierra Citizens for Sensible Government group said “the raise they voted to give themselves just before Christmas is horrendous and exceeds all sensibility. The raise by itself is greater than the (average) per capita income of most county residents. It was also done without any supporting justification … and nothing has been made available to the public.” Metz said, and he went further to say “I would like to see the ordinance repealed and a complete salary study done in public … Transparency … like they always talk about.” he said.
Other residents went further and suggested holding the supervisors responsible for their actions and it was time to begin gathering signatures to recall supervisors and other public officials’ efforting and accepting the excessive raises.
Residents can email a comment for supervisors to: COTB@MaderaCounty.com or a leave message by phone at 675-7700
Great article! Thanks for covering this.
Your article about the planned BOS raise is infuriating, especially after our leaders failed to save the only emergency hospital in the county they represent. That loss hurts everyone who lives here; beside the consequential higher medical risk to the local population, the hospital closure lowers local property value and weakens our county’s appeal for new businesses and new residents. The fact that they are squeezing an obscene raise under the radar within days of losing MCH is reprehensible.