Redwood Times

The Humboldt Taxpayer’s League (HTL) Board of Directors has voted unanimously to explore the feasibility of sponsoring a local initiative to limit the salaries of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

This action by the HTL board is in response to a proposed salary increase for Board of Supervisors, which would raise their salary of nearly $75,000 per year to $79,128 annually. Research shows that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is already the highest paid board for a county of similar size anywhere in the state with the possible exception of Placer County whose supervisors’ salaries are limited by their county charter.

The HTL board feels one possible solution to limiting the county supervisors’ salaries is to cause a local initiative to be passed that tie supervisor salaries to the local individual median income, which is currently $28,736 (2006 taxable year). By tying the salaries to the median income the HTL board feels that the average person on the street could relate to how much supervisors are making and how their salary is set. The HTL is considering asking the public to set board salaries at two times the county’s median individual income which would

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equal nearly $58,000 per year for each supervisor with increases as the economy improves in accordance with the income reported by the state Franchise Tax Board. The HTL also feels strongly that the “seniority bonus” currently granted long term supervisors should be immediately stopped.

For more information contact the Humboldt Taxpayer’s League Executive Director Cliff Chapman, Sr. at 725-6710.