Auditor to Ask State if Perk Pay Can Be Refused : Compensation: The action surprises Supervisor Vicky Howard. She and colleague John K. Flynn waived $25,000 in bonuses.

In a last act before retiring, Ventura County Auditor-Controller Norman Hawkes is questioning whether two county supervisors have the legal right to refuse a total of $25,000 in vacation and longevity bonuses that they do not want.

Hawkes, who steps down today after 28 years in the controller’s office, has directed his office to ask the state attorney general for an opinion on the bonus waiver requested last week by supervisors John K. Flynn and Vicky Howard. Flynn has refused about $14,000 in bonus pay and Howard $11,000.

Hawkes, who was one of the 10 county officials who accepted the bonuses, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Hawkes received $22,678 in vacation and longevity bonuses.

Assistant Auditor-Controller Thomas Mahon said Hawkes asked him to make the inquiry after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution last week allowing them to waive the bonuses. The board’s action overturned an earlier ruling by the county counsel’s office that they must accept all perks offered in 1992.

Hawkes “expressed some concerns as to the legalities of it,” Mahon said of the new resolution. “He’s an old pro. So when he says watch out, you pay attention.”

However, Mahon, who will succeed Hawkes as auditor-controller, said his office will withhold Flynn and Howard’s bonus pay as requested until it hears from state legal experts. Checks will be distributed next week to county employees and elected officials.

During the past few months, the supervisors have come under fire for the large perks they receive in addition to their salaries. The board recently voted to eliminate many of the perks, replacing them with higher salaries.

Mahon said he is working with the county counsel’s office to draw up a letter for the state attorney general.

County Counsel James McBride, who wrote the bonus waiver resolution, said he had spoken with Hawkes before the board’s vote. But he said Hawkes remained unconvinced that the officials could legally refuse their bonuses, which he considered to be part of their salaries.

“That historically has been his opinion,” McBride said. “He has always felt that way. But the law does allow for an individual to waive compensation.”

An official in the attorney general’s office said Wednesday that he would need to know all the details involved before he could form a legal opinion. But he said he does not believe that Hawkes is correct in assuming that the supervisors would be violating the law by turning down the extra money.

“I would be stunned” if that were true, said Rodney Lilyquist, chief of the attorney general’s opinions unit. “Someone would have to show me in black and white that that is the case. The burden is on the auditor-controller to show that.”

Supervisor Vicky Howard said she was surprised at Hawkes’ action.

“I don’t want the money,” Howard said. “I can’t see how there can be a problem with this. I’m trying awfully hard to help the county out, and all I’m getting is friction.”

Flynn could not be reached for comment.

Hawkes has been the target of criticism by some taxpayer groups who say he took early retirement to cash in on six months of retirement pay--$69,000--that he otherwise would not receive once a new law takes effect.

The Board of Supervisors voted earlier this year to eliminate the extra pay set aside for retiring elected officials who had served 10 years or more with the county.

Hawkes has said he is retiring early because of health reasons.