Let Them Eat Cake! - A Review of Nevada County Executive Staff Pay
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows – Leonard Cohen
Nevada County Economic Demographics
2023 Nevada County per capita income: $46,706
2023 Nevada County median household income: $79,395
Nevada County Current Budget
According to the 2024-2025 budget adopted by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, “The Board of Supervisors is responsible for adopting the budget, after considering it as a whole, and gauging its success in reflecting County-wide objectives and priorities for the community.” For the 2024-2025 budget, the Board of Supervisors created eight objectives: emergency preparedness, economic development, broadband, climate resilience, housing, homelessness, recreation, and core services. Fiscal stability was eliminated as an objective from this year’s budget.
Supervisors Delegated All Authority over Staff Bonus to County Executive Officer
In June 2022, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass Resolution 22-288 regarding pay raises for County staff. The resolution gave Alison Lehman, County Executive Officer, carte blanche to give bonuses at her discretion to “Senior Executive Staff.”
Resolution 22-288 states, “The County Executive Officer shall establish and maintain a system of performance measurements and goal setting in order to evaluate Senior Executive eligibility for pay-for-performance salary differentials. Although a Senior Executive’s anniversary date shall remain intact on an annual basis, Senior Executives are eligible to receive salary adjustments at any time during the year based upon demonstrating superior performance in meeting the County Executive Officer’s established goals and objectives. The County Executive Officer is authorized to provide a 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, or 10.0% pay-for-performance salary differential for a period to be determined by the County Executive Officer.”
Other than doing their job, what additional superior performances are there?
What, exactly, are the pay-for-performance criteria for which bonuses are given?
What are the metrics for determining the County Executive Officer’s goals and objectives for each year are being met?
How do these metrics compare to analogous ones in the private sector?
Overview of Nevada County’s 2024-25 Budget
Total Revenue: $363,832,795
Total Expenses: $387,709,385
Budget Deficit: ($23,876,590)
Summary of Total County Salaries
$151,647,372 = 2024-2025 Salaries & Benefits = 42% of the budget
$139,826,681 = 2023-2024 Salaries & Benefits
$ 11,820,691 = Salaries & Benefit increases over previous year
Exorbitant County Executive Salary and Benefits
Today, Nevada County CEO Alison Lehman’s total salary and benefits package is $450,468. Governor Newsom’s 2024 salary total was $224,020. This year, Newsom declined a 3.5% pay raise. Somehow it does not seem right that our Nevada County CEO and Senior Executive Staff have higher salaries than the Governor of California and state officials.
Despite a Stagnant Nevada County Economy, Salary and Benefits of Senior Staff and Elected Officials Have Increased Dramatically
Check the percentage pay raises in Nevada County senior staff between 2022 and 2023 from Transparent California.
2022 2023 % increase in salary
$430,800 $450,468 5% Alison Lehman, Chief Executive Officer
$349,744 $371,768 6% Steve Monaghan, Director of Information
$305,652 $321,459 5% Martin Polt, Deputy CEO
$223,530 $327,524 47% Gina Will, Auditor-Controller
$322,636 $352,080 9% Ryan Gruver, Health & Human Services Director
$287,707 $311,481 8% Craig Griesbach, OES Director
$329,734 $343,058 4% Trisha Tillotson, Community Development
$262,909 $277,635 6% Brian Foss, Planning Director
$252,286 $278,706 10% Phebe Bell, Behavioral Health Director
$326,834 $351,958 8% Jesse Wilson, District Attorney
$330,834 $350,175 6% Katherine Elliot, County Counsel
$74,043 Board of Supervisor yearly salary beginning 2024
Salaries for Nevada County Senior Staff are Outrageous
A 42% payroll expense with big percentage raises each year is unsustainable, especially in light of the downturn in state funding. Given the outrageously high salaries of senior executive staff and elected officials, the tax-paying public is questioning the rationale of our CEO. Leaving pay raises solely to the discretion of the CEO is irresponsible at best.
No Citizen Oversight of Budget Decisions
Currently, there’s no citizen oversight of the budget. Nevada County citizens are not allowed to attend the yearly budget sessions. I asked to attend. Neither are citizens privy to negotiations in how salaries nor pay raises are decided. Consequently, there is no transparency in budget decision-making.
Taxpayers expect fiscal responsibility from our Board of Supervisors and CEO. Transparency may require revising salary and benefits policy and keeping a lid on raises. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer to make sure there are sufficient funds to cover Board Objectives and other county operations.
A guide to payroll and revenue by rippling.com presents some practical, real-world solutions:
Quantitative easing of salaries and benefits bringing them down to pre-Alison Lehman levels.
Pay raises in line with actual cost-of-living increases, not some made-up amount.
A 10% reduction in salaries and benefits, focusing on senior executive staff.
Bring total payroll expense to 32% of budget revenue following industry standards for payroll.
Suggestions for Oversight
In order to give the people of Nevada County a chance to have a say how salaries are determined, I suggest forming a citizen’s task force to review the yearly budget and address whether salaries and benefits are impinging on providing core services.
“THE ENORMOUS pay going to the richest members of society is not necessary to get them to do the work they do. Nor does it reflect the societal value of their work. More often than not, their pay is way out of line with the common good.
Meanwhile, the current pay going to the working class is inadequate to provide people the standard of living they desire. It, too, is out of line with the common good.” – Robert Reich
When voting for a supervisor in the next election, make sure they intend to bring the salaries and benefits percentage of gross revenue to normal industry standards, or follow the guidelines for the State of California.
