This week, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Diane Jacob outlined her vision for fixing the County’s growing budget crisis that could require up to $100 million in cuts this year alone.
Jacob outlined her plan at the “State of the County” address, a mostly ceremonial event held each year by the rotating chairperson.  This year the honor fell to Jacob, who is now entering her 24th year on the Board of Supervisors.
Although she did not outline any specific budget cuts, Jacob did mention two growing costs that are dragging on the County’s budget; employee pensions and health care costs.
Jacob has been on the Board of Supervisors since 1993 and, last year, was elected to her seventh and final term before being forced out of office by term limits in 2020. Supervisor Jacob has been involved in every decision at the County for over 23 years, including numerous employee salary increases, approval of 23 annual budgets, and decisions on investing the County’s multi-billion dollar pension fund.
So, after serving on a board that has enjoyed unanimous decisions on nearly every vote during her entire tenure, Jacob is lamenting the fact that the County must tighten its belt to get through a tough fiscal year. She blames funding cuts at the state level. She blames low returns on their retirement fund investments. And, she blames rising employee pension and health care costs, too.
But, Diane Jacob really should start by blaming herself.
Not for granting raises and, therefore, pension increases to employee she now wants to cut. Not for relying too heavily on rosy expectations of market returns in their pension fund. Not even for failing to anticipate budget cuts after years of bragging about the County’s fiscal health.
No. Diane Jacob should be lambasted for voting last month to give herself and her colleagues raises that will net each one of them over $19,000 per year, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased pension income throughout the remainder of her lifetime.
What is more troubling is that the Board didn’t vote to raise their own salaries; instead, they just raised the obscure ratio that governs the amount of their annual salaries. Board salary have been pegged at 80 percent of a Superior Judge salary for over 20 years. When judges’ salaries are raised by the state, which happens every few years, the Supervisors have received automatic pay raises without having to even vote on them.
Now that four of the five Supervisors, including Jacob, are in their last terms and will not face voters again, Jacob and her colleagues voted to raise the salary ratio to 85 percent in March and to 90 percent in December of this year, amounting to a whopping 12.5 percent raise in one year.
And, compounded with automatic raises that are sure to come in future years when judges’ salaries are raised, the soon-to-be retired Supervisors will spike their pensions, adding to the already underfunded pension system Jacob is currently complaining about.
Jacob and her colleagues argue they are the lowest paid Supervisors (if you can call $153,289.60 per year plus benefits underpaid) in the five largest counties in the state. Ron Roberts said he thinks the raises are “fair and justified.”
But Jacob didn’t have the courage to vote on her salary increase before her election when it could have become a political liability. Instead, Jacob and her colleagues brought the issue up at the first meeting after the election, when she had secured her last campaign victory.
Newly elected Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, the former mayor of Encinitas, was faced with voting on the raises at her very first meeting. She voted against the raises, but having four votes in favor, the raises were approved anyway and Gaspar will also reap the benefit of higher pay and pension increases.
Jacob can complain all she wants that budget cuts are necessary to address unexpected impacts caused by the State or the market. But, she can’t deny that she knew her raises would add to the runaway costs of pensions and health benefits already burdening the County.
In the end, Jacob put herself before the taxpayers, and voted to line her own pockets. Her fiscal conservative values couldn’t trump her own self interests.
Politics as usual.
Shame on you Dianne Jacob.