Board directs staff to return with draft compensation policies and possible increases for elected officials

Human Resources brought draft compensation policies for elected officials and board members to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors on July 22, and the board gave staff direction to return with finalized policies and recommended salary adjustments tied to the county’s fiscal calendar.

Judy Hawkins, human resources and risk director, said the materials are draft and intended for discussion: “This is not adopting the policy. It's bringing to you for discussion.” Hawkins told the board Evergreen Consulting provided the original benchmarking and HR worked to refine a formula that balances internal and external comparisons.

Key elements of the draft policies discussed

- For the assessor, auditor‑controller, clerk‑recorder, district attorney, sheriff and treasurer/tax‑collector the recommended methodology described in the staff presentation uses a weighted approach: 50% comparative market benchmarking (peer counties) and 50% alignment with comparable appointed department‑head pay grades, with protections against compaction between an elected official and their principal assistant (15% separation recommended). Evergreen suggested an annual cap on adjustments (10% mentioned in discussion). The comparable counties listed in the presentation included Amador, El Dorado, Lake, Stanislaus, Nevada, Sutter and Tuolumne.

- For Board of Supervisors compensation the draft used a different blended formula: 40% cost‑of‑living adjustment (CPI), 40% the average base of supervisors in peer counties, and 20% of the annual percentage adjustment approved by California superior court judges. Staff noted the current proposed formula as drafted would not produce an immediate increase for supervisors (the board is approximately $3,000 per year above the peer average under the parameters presented).

Board direction and next steps

After questions and comment, the board gave clear direction: staff should bring back two drafted policies (one for board compensation and one for the other elected officials) and return with recommended salary changes timed to the adoption of the county budget (September). Staff said the Evergreen recommendation would have produced a roughly $71,000 annual increase across affected elected offices (about $61,000 for FY2025‑26 after timing adjustments); the draft policy would generate an estimated $81,000 but timing reduces the FY2025‑26 impact to an estimated $61,000. Hawkins said the board could defer implementation in a given year if fiscal constraints required it; the draft also contemplates periodic review of the policy every three to five years.

What was not decided

The board did not adopt any salary changes at the July 22 meeting. Instead it directed HR to refine the draft language, distribute the policies to members for review and return with a formal item that would include proposed salary adjustments concurrent with the budget adoption.