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County planning staff earn less than city counterparts, public commenter says, urging pay review
Summary
A county employee who works in Planning and Natural Resources told the board many county land-use planners earn less than comparable Bakersfield city planners and urged the county to consider pay adjustments to retain staff.
Randall Cates, who said he works in the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, told the Board of Supervisors on June 3 that non-supervisory county land-use planners are paid less than comparable planners at the City of Bakersfield and urged the board to consider wage adjustments to retain trained staff.
Comparative data presented: Cates said he obtained public records listing non-supervising land-use planners’ names, length of service, job titles and wages and compared 29 county planners to an identified comparable city planner. He said each of the 29 county planners earned less than the comparable city position and listed biweekly discrepancies ranging from roughly $252 to $688 less every two weeks for specific employees in his handout to the clerk.
Retention concern: Cates said many trained planners relocate after receiving a few years of training because of financial considerations and asked the board to keep recruitment and retention in mind when setting staffing and compensation policies.
Board action: The speaker submitted his comparative data to the clerk for the record. The board did not take immediate action in the morning session; no formal policy change or pay adjustment was voted on the record.
