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Supervisors approve 5% temporary stipend for three acting managers after debate and union objections
Summary
The board authorized a temporary 5% stipend retroactive to when employees assumed additional duties for three county positions. Teamsters representatives said the action risked a strike on July 1 if members did not receive equivalent compensation.
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors on May 6 voted to grant three employees a temporary 5% stipend while they perform the duties of higher positions, with pay retroactive to the dates those duties began.
The item drew public comment from union representatives who said the board's action risked labor unrest. Teamsters shop steward Maria Solano told the board she had worked for the county since 2002 and called the proposed disparity between management stipends and union offers unfair. "It's a slap in the face to all the hardworking Teamsters that do the actual hard work," Solano said, adding that "a strike will be inevitable July 1" if members do not receive similar increases.
The board's approved motion (moved by Supervisor Ryan Kelly, seconded by Supervisor Jesus Escobar) adopted a 5% temporary stipend instead of a previously proposed 10% stipend and made the pay retroactive to the date each employee assumed the added responsibilities. Human resources clarified the stipends are temporary and will continue only while the assignment remains in effect; they are not permanent salary adjustments that carry the full benefits of the higher job classification.
Human Resources provided examples of the budgetary effect and explained that filling the roles as formal temporary appointments or working out of class could have produced a different, often larger, increase because of how ranges and steps apply under county ordinance. HR representatives said a full temporary appointment could have resulted in increases larger than 5%, depending on step placement.
The board's action followed earlier public remarks from a union representative during public comment about Ordinance 3.1217 — an ordinance the speaker quoted as authorizing additional compensation when the board deems it necessary. The board chose the 5% stipend as a cost‑conscious alternative and specified the stipend ends when the assignment ends or a permanent appointment is made.
The motion passed by a voice vote recorded in the transcript as "motion carries."
