Orange County’s top elected officials are set to give themselves pay raises today as part of their new budget, with an annual raise of around $49,000 per county supervisor. 

If Orange County Supervisors approve the raises at their Tuesday meeting, each of the five members would be making at least $244,000 yearly later this year before benefits. 

But that’s unclear in the agenda documents posted by county staff, which don’t explicitly state a dollar amount for supervisors’ new salaries. 

The $49,000 number comes from county spokesperson Molly Nichelson, who confirmed that moving forward supervisors’ salaries will increase alongside local judges. 

“The salary for a member of the Board of Supervisors shall be set at an annual base salary rate equal to the regular annual salary prescribed by State law for judges of the Superior Court of the State of California,” reads the county’s new ordinance. 

According to the California State Bar, the minimum wage for a California Superior Court Judge is over $244,000 a year. 

That’s around a 25% increase for county supervisors, who previously made around $196,000 a year. 

The discussion on pay raises for supervisors was also on the agenda at their June 10 meeting, where it was approved in a 4-1 vote without any debate.

Supervisor Katrina Foley, the sole supervisor to vote against the raise, offered a brief statement to Voice of OC, saying she will continue opposing. 

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento argued that the pay raise was needed to “attract talented professionals into this role.” 

“After review and evaluation of the salaries paid to supervisors in surrounding comparable jurisdictions, the new ordinance will set compensation to match the regular annual salary of a judge of the Superior Court of the State of California,” Sarmiento wrote in a Monday statement. 

County Supervisor Doug Chafee, who also serves as chair of the board, declined to comment on the pay hike. 

None of the other county supervisors returned requests for comment on this article.

The second reading is set to come as part of the county’s adoption of its nearly $11 billion budget today. 

There’s also a push right now to increase judges’ salaries, with Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Maryanne Gilliard currently in the midst of a lawsuit against the state arguing the state’s HR Department miscalculated judges’ annual pay increases. 

“For years, the judges and justices serving California’s court system—the largest in the nation—have been underpaid due to an intentional miscalculation by Defendant the California Department of Human Resources (“CalHR”) of the average percentage salary increase for California state employees, which is used to determine salary increases for California’s jurists,” reads Gilliard’s lawsuit.

Gilliard is asking for back pay as far as Sept. 2023 for all judges, and for the rate to be fixed moving forward.  

Multiple city councils have discussed approving raises for themselves in recent years, including Santa Ana, which suggested making city council members full time in a proposal that was shot down by the voters. 

[Read: Is it Really Time For Full-Time Politicians in Santa Ana?]

Other city councils like Fountain Valley and Brea have beefed up their own pay, arguing they need to keep up with inflation. 

Unlike city council members, county supervisors work full time.

Supervisors also have their own full time staff of 11 people that altogether end up costing over $2 million in salary costs per supervisor, according to the county budget. 

The proposed raises also come as they’re considering pay hikes for their top attorney and for their newly appointed CEO Michelle Aguirre, who’s agreed to stay on for one more year after stepping up as the county’s interim CEO last July.

Aguirre is set to receive a $50,000 pay bump to a new salary of $460,000 and county counsel Leon Page is receiving a $76,000 raise from his 2022 contract, bringing his total salary to nearly $363,000. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Paul Leon as county counsel instead of Leon Page. We regret the error.

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.