Mendocino County supervisors approve 16 percent raise for district attorney

Mendocino County supervisors on Tuesday approved a 16 percent pay raise for District Attorney David Eyster, less than the 22 percent that was proposed but considerably higher than the 5 percent increase they've given most other county employees.

Two supervisors, Tom Woodhouse and John McCowen, voted in favor of the original increase, which would have boosted Eyster's salary and benefits about 22 percent from $194,751 to $236,172. But the other three supervisors said it was too costly and inequitable, echoing the concerns of employee bargaining representatives.

'It has to do with all the county employees who still are not at the level they were at in 2010,' said Supervisor Dan Hamburg, referring to the 10 percent pay cut all employees took that year and have yet to recoup.

Supervisor Carre Brown said the county, faced with ever-growing retirement costs, also can't afford such a raise.

But supervisors ultimately were swayed by McCowen and Woodhouse, who said they feared Eyster would quit if he didn't get a hefty raise. McCowen suggested that Eyster might look for a new job, including running for judge.

'I will not be the supervisor who watches the district attorney walk out the door for 15 or 20 percent,' McCowen said.

Increase called deserved

Woodhouse proposed a 22 percent raise for Eyster and a 10 percent raise for Sheriff Tom Allman, saying it was based on documentation provided by Eyster. He said Eyster deserved to have his pay increased, noting that the district attorney has cleared the courts of a stubborn clutter of marijuana cases and brought in revenues through drug asset forfeiture filings and a program that allows marijuana defendants to plead to lesser criminal charges in exchange for restitution payments.

'He's a valuable person. He brings in millions,' Woodhouse said.

The board, however, scaled back the size of the pay increases proposed by Woodhouse.

The board unanimously approved a 16 percent increase for Eyster after Supervisor Dan Gjerde proposed splitting it into two parts: a permanent 5 percent raise and a temporary raise of 11 percent, which will expire at the end of Eyster's current elected term — his second — three years from now.

The raise was triggered by a February letter from Eyster to the county administrator and supervisors in which he states he's vastly underpaid for the work he does, which includes prosecuting cases and collecting several million dollars a year in income from drug prosecutions.

In his letter, he expressed dismay that the public defender and Willits police chief made only slightly less than he does. On Tuesday, Eyster told the board he has education, special training and skills that aren't required of other positions.

'People can't come in and say 'I want to do that job,'' he said Tuesday.

Eyster also claims to be the lowest-paid district attorney in a county with fewer than 100,000 people, based on the per capita cost of his salary to residents, which he pins at $1.95 per person. His actual salary and benefits package is higher than those of district attorneys in 13 of the 22 the counties he compared.

DA provided figures

The supervisors did not conduct their own salary analysis and none of them on Tuesday questioned Eyster's figures or conclusions.

The board also scaled back the size of the raise Woodhouse proposed for Allman, granting him a 5 percent pay increase — the same approved for all other elected department heads in the county.

Allman promised the board he would run for re-election in 2018, even if supervisors reduced his pay.

'I didn't get into this for the money part,' he said Tuesday.

Eyster said he also enjoys his job but made no promise to stay.

Before the vote, county employee representatives lobbied supervisors to treat all employees fairly. They have noted that elected officials knew what their salaries will be when they choose to run for office.

'We think something more in line with the 5 percent' is appropriate, said Anthony Adams, a deputy public defender and union shop steward with the Mendocino County Public Attorneys' Association. He also defended his boss, Public Defender Linda Thompson, whom Eyster used at length in his letter to explain why he deserved to be paid significantly more than her.

'My boss works as hard or harder than anyone in the county,' Adams said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Mendo Reporter.