The Orange County Board of Supervisors’ approval of a 25% pay hike was “troubling” and tone-deaf” amid a hiring freeze and multimillion-dollar budget gap, according to an investigation by the Orange County Grand Jury.
The Grand Jury report, issued Dec. 22, concluded that the supervisors undermined public confidence by granting themselves a $49,000 raise as a budget item, which required no comment, instead of as a separate agenda item, which might have promoted debate.
“The timing was especially troubling as the County of Orange (County) has been facing hiring freezes and budget constraints,” the grand jurors wrote. “This decision was not only tone-deaf—it reflected a deeper disconnect from the Board’s duty to serve the public with transparency and fiscal responsibility.”
The board passed a proposal on June 24 that made their pay commensurate with what state superior court judges make: $244,000 annually. Until this year, the supervisors’ annual pay had been fixed at 80% of what the Superior Court judges made. That pay formula was set in an ordinance passed by county supervisors in 2005.
The Grand Jury also noted that the vote came just two weeks after disgraced former Supervisor Andrew Do was sentenced to five years in federal prison for accepting $868,000 in bribes in a scheme involving the alleged embezzlement of millions in COVID-relief funds.
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