Council OKs raises for 600 employees
Eron Ben-Yehuda
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Payday came early this week as the City Council
approved generous raises for about 600 city employees Tuesday.
“You are really giving away the store, folks,” said resident Chuck
Scheid, a member of the city’s finance board.
But a majority of the council did not agree, voting 6-1 in favor of the
two-year agreements. When combined with cost-of-living increases the
employees received earlier this month, the city will pay out about $2
million more this year and close to $3 million more next year, said John
Reekstin, the city’s director of administrative services.
On both occasions, only City Councilman Dave Sullivan objected, largely
because the salary increases were based on a new city-sponsored study
that recommends its employees make as much or more than 75% of what
employees in similar cities make.
“In my mind, [that’s] much too much,” he said.
Sullivan also broke ranks because the labor agreements included greater
retirement benefits that the city won’t have to pay for as long as the
bullish stock market continues its roll.
“I’ve been around long enough to know that what goes up comes down,” he
said.
To justify the raises, city officials pointed out that the job market is
booming, which makes attracting and retaining qualified employees
difficult. Coupled with the county’s high cost of living, the city had to
boost salaries to regain its competitive edge, they said.
City Councilman Ralph Bauer has said that because city employees work at
an above-average level, they should be paid accordingly.
“It’s certainly well justified,” he has said.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.