Orange County Supervisors are now among the highest paid elected officials in the state after they voted to raise their own income to the same amount superior court judges receive.

That puts their new base salary at over $244,000, a $49,000 raise, which is above Governor Newsom’s salary of $242,000 according to the state’s HR website. 

The new salary goes into effect in October, and will continue to increase alongside judges’ pay rate in the future. 

[Read: OC Supervisors Set to Quietly Give Themselves a 25% Raise]

The raise came after county supervisors and CEO Michelle Aguirre, who also separately received a $50,000 raise on Tuesday to bring her base salary to $460,000, have been asking for county department heads to tighten their budgets for months amidst concerns over balancing their over $10 billion budget, which supervisors also approved on Tuesday afternoon at their board meeting. 

Supervisors also approved a one-year contract with Aguirre – formerly the County Chief Financial Officer – on Tuesday, appointing her as CEO after months in the job as an interim. 

“Based on the issues identified above, immediate budget restrictions and cost saving measures are necessary to close any gaps that may occur,” Aguirre wrote in a January letter to county staff. “Departments are to review the functions, programs and services they are mandated to provide along with the service levels currently provided to find ways to implement cost saving measures.” 

[Read: Orange County Reins in Public Spending Amidst Possible Budget Shortfall]

Supervisor Don Wagner, the only county supervisor to speak about the raises at the meeting, said that they deserved the money because they do even more work than judges do. 

“There is no gaming the system,” Wagner said at the meeting. “The work this board does is broader and we have more roles and responsibilities than even do those superior court judges. This is an item that’s time has come.” 

Supervisor Katrina Foley voted against the raise, but did not share any reasons why at the meeting.

The day before the meeting, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento argued the raises were needed to continue attracting talented people to run to be a supervisor. 

“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. 

The raises also put county supervisors at making more than twice the median household income in Orange County according to the federal census bureau, which sits around $113,000 as of 2023. 

They also make more than California’s Attorney General, Secretary of State, Controller and Treasurer, as well as state assembly members, state senate members, and members of the federal House of Representatives. 

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