Political, community leaders oppose Supervisors' handout of federal COVID relief funds to county workers
In a recent SJ Merc op-ed, councilmember and mayoral hopeful Matt Mahan harshly criticized Supervisors' recent vote to redirect federal COVID funds to provide $2500 bonuses to every county employee (Supervisor Cindy Chavez, another mayoral hopeful, voted for the bonus package). Councilmember Dev Davis (also running for mayor) and Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility chief Pat Waite provide additional perspective.
From CM Mahan's op-ed:
Santa Clara County received $187 million in American Rescue Plan dollars from the federal government, specifically intended to offset the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our community. Instead, it went to bonuses.
Times are truly hard for our community. The pandemic and ensuing economic downturn have uprooted all of our lives, especially those of our most vulnerable neighbors: countywide, 8,000 people sleep on the streets every night; hundreds of small businesses have been forced to shut their doors; students have, on average, fallen 4 to 5 months behind on their education, with greater learning loss in low-income households; and 39,000 families continue to struggle to make rent each month.
In a move profoundly disconnected from reality, the county opted to spend our scarce one-time relief funds on themselves.
More than 4,500 county employees make more than $200,000 per year in salary and benefits. They all will receive a $2,500 check in the mail, courtesy of taxpayers. For the thousands of top bureaucrats who have been able to comfortably transition their work to their homes, a blanket “hazard pay” bonus is indefensible.
Tremendous good could have been done with $76 million. While the following figures are estimates, each represents the scale and basic tradeoff inherent to the county’s poor decision. For the cost of these bonuses, we could have accomplished any one of the following:
● Ended hunger in our county for eight months, according to data from Feeding America.
● Paved every one of the 62 miles of expressways operated by the county.
● Built low-cost modular apartments for 506 people currently sleeping on the streets.
● Made county parks free for 21 years, replacing the $3.5 million per year the county collects in fees.
● Bridged the digital divide in our communities — we need only a fifth of what the county is spending on bonus pay to purchase sufficient internet connectivity and devices for our low-income neighbors.
● Forgiven rent debt for all 12,800 households in San Jose that are behind.
Read the whole thing at: www.sjmercury.com
CM Dev Davis comment:
The debate over the county's over-generous COVID payout to its employees calls out some important governance and fiscal management issues that both local voters and the politicians they elect should pay attention to.
From a fiscal responsibility perspective, taking $76 million dollars in federal funds and handing out a $2500 bonus to every employee is just too much. It's untargeted and sends a message of loose spending that is just inappropriate at any time, especially when people are hurting from the pandemic and the shutdowns.
From an employee compensation perspective, I believe it is legitimate for governments to give special bonuses to particular groups of workers during extraordinary times, and especially if it's part of their overall, negotiated, compensation package. That's why I voted for, and firmly support, SJ's COVID-related payout to our employees: As part of our regularly-scheduled contracting negotiations, we provided our remote workers some extra cash to help fund their at-home technology needs, and we gave hazard pay to our front line workers. This is what responsible compensation strategies look like.
And from a governance perspective, we need to remember that we have separation of government powers for a reason: The county supervisors do not work for the San Jose mayor or city councilmembers. As a councilmember, I don't have a vote on what the supervisors do. The supervisors work for their constituents-- they are the ones who need to hold the supervisors accountable. We are in a mayoral race in San Jose--not a county supervisor election. There will be, of course, a lot of noise, and criticism of each other--that's as it should be. But I think our voters will be better served if we focus on San Jose-specific issues in a San Jose-specific race and not get sidetracked onto issues we can't influence.
Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility chief Pat Waite comment:
I find it unconscionable that the county is handing out "hero pay" to every single county employee. I certainly understand additional compensation for the front line workers who risked infection while performing their duties. But bonuses for EVERY employee when our small businesses are shuttered and our streets are lined with homeless encampments? Not a good optic, nor a valid use of the federal funds. Kudos to Supervisor Lee for understanding this.
More on Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility here.
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