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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Two county staffers get raises as others’ pay is cut By Noah Haglund Herald Writer EVERETT — Some Snohomish County employees facing a possible 5.7 percent pay cut next year believe that their leaders aren’t making the same sacrifices. Two administrators with the Superior Court received raises this year after human resources staff reclassified their jobs to reflect a higher level of responsibility. A union for juvenile probation and detention employees was so troubled by the situation that it took out newspaper ads last week. “We would like to see (the pay raises) delayed until such time that other employees aren’t either getting laid off or have pay cuts from the furloughs,” said Brian O’Neill, a detention officer at the county’s Denney Juvenile Justice Center and president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local 1811. The raises, which took effect Aug. 1, give two assistant administrators at the Superior Court a $400-per-month raise. That bumps them up to nearly $106,000 per year, up from about $101,000. The union wants the raises halted until the county has a balanced budget and county employees have gone a year without pay cuts or furloughs. For O’Neill, the issue isn’t the salary itself, but a raise at a time when he and others are making less. “It sours attitudes and people are less likely to act together as a team,” he said. The official who requested the increase said the change was necessary to resolve a separate fairness issue: assistant administrators who were underpaid compared to other departments. “This wasn’t anything that they asked for, this was something that I asked for,” Superior Court Administrator Bob Terwilliger said. “I came to the conclusion that here were multiple positions in the county that were clearly paid more and clearly didn’t have the same responsibility level.” In March, AFSCME and other unions agreed to an emergency deal for 11 furlough days to help save the county millions of dollars while preventing layoffs. The deal was struck after it became apparent that falling revenues required cutting $6 million from the budget. Terwilliger pointed out that the two assistant administrators who received raises also had to take furloughs this year. As with other county employees, the furloughs wiped out more than 4 percent of their paychecks. Detention officers and sheriff’s deputies weren’t affected because furloughs were not practical given their around-the-clock duties. That group included juvenile detention officers at Denney. Next year could be different. County Executive Aaron Reardon’s proposed 2010 budget calls for all employees to take 15 furlough days — the equivalent of a 5.7 percent pay cut. The deputies and corrections officers would have to take the same pay cut without getting the unpaid days off. “People are highly upset about this pay cut,” O’Neill said. The County Council is working on its own version of the budget, which could offer different solutions from the executive. Elected officials’ and judges’ salaries remain the same because they are set by a state commission. Reardon, in a memo sent Wednesday to County Council Chairman Mike Cooper, said he shared the union’s concerns about fairness. His office actually turned down the same reclassification in early 2008. In June of that year, however, the County Council adopted an emergency ordinance that prevented Reardon’s office from approving or denying such requests. Now, they go through the human resources department in a purely administrative process. While Reardon oversees human resources, his staff can’t intervene. He called it an “unintended consequence” of the council’s action. Early this year, Terwilliger resubmitted the request on behalf of the two assistant administrators and the human resources department approved it. “If they had come back to me and said ‘I don’t think so,’ I’m done,” Terwilliger said. Cooper, the council chairman, said that he hoped to discuss the issue with Reardon soon. He said he could understand the union’s frustration. He also said he could see why Terwilliger wanted the change, but isn’t sure he would have asked for it in the current climate. Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Contact your ELECTED leaders The Union has an ad on this site asking for readers to contact local leaders: County Administrator: 425-388-3798 County Executive: 425-388-3879 County Council: 425-388-3494 Elle None | Nov 3, 2009 7:39 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal No respect It's hard for employees to respect the bosses who won't walk the walk. It's even harder to know that Terwilliger thought this was necessary. He lost my next vote. Elle None | Nov 3, 2009 7:14 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) The official who requested the increase said the change was necessary to resolve a separate fairness issue: assistant administrators who were underpaid compared to other departments. Really? $101k was underpaid? Snohomish County officials need to rethink that statement. That is well over half of what an average worker makes....it is far from being "underpaid". What a disgrace to Snohomish County once again... Suzie Jacobs | Nov 3, 2009 3:54 am | 2 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) The ironic, it's election day and Bob Terwilliger is in the news for questionable judgement, I remember him coming to speak when he was the lame-duck auditor, I questioned him on the electronic voting machines, you know the ones that leave no paper trail, and how much the tax payers were losing because reasonable people demanded a system with accountability, after the smoke screened answer, he finally admitted to a lose in the millions and climbing, what does this bafoonery get us. The county executive appoints him to his current position after all who in the private sector would hire someone with these critical thinking skills with a six figure salary! Paul Abbitt | Nov 3, 2009 9:57 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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