County Board of Supervisors Vote Themselves a 10 Percent Raise

With little debate and little protest from the audience Tuesday morning, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors increased their salaries from $111,000 to $123,000 a year.

"One of my first actions on this board was to turn down a pay increase," said John Leopold, who made the motion to accept a staff recommendation to boost their pay. "This proposal is not different than what we offer our employees."

Zach Friend seconded the motion, while Greg Caput protested, and along with Bruce McPherson, voted against it.

"I'm embarrassed that we are considering this," said Caput. "How do I tell a resident of South County that $115,000 a year, not including benefits, isn't enough to live on?"

The top level county staff, who are among the highest paid in the state, recommended the pay raise. Read the details here. 

They recommended the raise because the supervisors aides were making as much as $90,000 and they thought the supervisors should earn 15 percent more than their staffs.

For comparison's sake, Santa Cruz City Council members, who work extremely hard at their jobs, earn $18,000 a year.