Mariposa County District Attorney Walter Wall asked the board of supervisors last week for a raise.
They turned him down.
At least for now.
Wall said he was only asking for what he called “a modest” 10 percent raise that would increase his salary from $180,420 to $199,420.
Wall pointed out that his number two, the assistant district attorney, is now making more than he is after Wall sought, and the supervisors approved, a pay bump in February for the assistant and deputy attorneys in his office.
The problem of subordinates making as much money, or nearly as much, as senior leadership is known as “compaction.”
It has become an ever pressing issue across county government after the supervisors approved recent salary increases for union employees.
“We can’t just fix the pothole. We have to fix the road,” said County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch about the broader issue.
Lynch’s own salary “pothole” was fixed in February, when the supervisors approved a stand alone contract at his request for $218,000 plus a year severance if he is fired.
Lynch said one of the reasons he wanted the contract was so that he could lobby on behalf of department heads without appearing to have a conflict of interest with his own salary increase.
To make his case, Wall presented data from eight other counties that are used as a benchmark for Mariposa County government salaries.
That analysis showed in terms of base salary, Wall’s current salary of $180,420 is, on average, 13 to 18 percent less than other comparable district attorneys.
Supervisor Shannon Poe questioned whether those eight benchmark counties — Merced, Madera, Glenn, Plumas, Amador, Colusa, Calaveras and Tuolumne — are truly comparable to Mariposa County.
Lynch said those counties are used for comparison because they represent places in the labor market “we would lose out to.”
“A lot of our seconds in command don’t want to take on more responsibility because they will lose money,” said Lynch
Department heads are salaried and don’t explicitly get vacation, sick or paid leave. Lynch said that situation is problematic for one department head looking at maternity leave in the near future.
“My concern is this is a necessary step, but I don’t think you’re alone,” Supervisor Jenni Kiser said to Wall.
Other supervisors agreed that there needs to be a broader look at the issue.
Lynch suggested he will enlist a human resources consultant to take a “non-biased” look at the issue and plans to return to the board with the analysis in a month. The analysis is expected to cost under $20,000.
But Supervisor Miles Menetrey suggested he had other concerns.
“I think the timing of this request is misguided,” Menetrey said.
Menetrey said he was struggling with the situation because Wall is named in two lawsuits.
In fact, Wall is only mentioned in two claims against the county, from former Mariposa District Attorney Mike McAfee and a former investigator in the DA’s office, Josh Keheley. Neither man has filed a lawsuit.
Menetrey’s comments were perhaps unintentionally ironic.
Just a few minutes earlier in the supervisor’s meeting, Menetrey criticized the Mariposa Gazette for “throwing shade” on the newly hired development director, Greg Thompson, because the newspaper reported on two lawsuits in which he was the defendant.
As for Wall, he did not debate or question the supervisors after presenting his case for a raise.
After the discussion, he turned and walked out of the supervisor’s chambers — without saying another word.
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