Ventura County Board Approves New Salary Increases Amid Equity Concerns

The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) Board has officially moved forward with a significant new compensation package for its employees. During a meeting held on January 13, 2026, the board voted 7 to 1 to adopt a resolution granting general salary increases and market based adjustments. While the move aims to bring county pay in line with neighboring jurisdictions, it has sparked a heated debate regarding how those raises are being distributed among technical staff versus administrative management.

Breakdown of the New Pay Structure

County Human Resources Director Danielle Keyes presented the proposal, which mirrors recent agreements made with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The package includes a 3.5 percent general salary increase for each of the next three and a half years. Additionally, the plan implements market based adjustments (MBAs) ranging from 1 percent to 9 percent. These adjustments were calculated following a comprehensive total compensation study of comparable jurisdictions, with the raises applied retroactively to December 2025.

Keyes explained that the county’s approach uses a benchmark system to group job classifications and ensure competitive pay. However, during the public comment portion of the meeting, several speakers and union representatives challenged this methodology. They argued that the technical specialists at the APCD were being compared to general environmental health classifications in other departments rather than to equivalent technical roles in other specialized air districts.

Concerns Over Management Bias and Equity

The most vocal opposition came from SEIU representatives who claimed that the current distribution of market based adjustments heavily favors administrative managers over the rank and file technical staff. One representative noted that technical staff were largely overlooked in the higher tier adjustments, while management positions saw more consistent gains. Despite these concerns and a request for an independent investigation into the salary study's equity, the board proceeded with the vote.

The lone dissenting vote came from Board Member Pedro Chavez, while the remaining seven members, including newly elected Chair Linda Parvin and Vice Chair Albert Mendez, voted in favor of the resolution. The board also handled several administrative appointments during the session, including placing Supervisor Matt LaVier on the APCD standing committee. While the raises are now finalized, the testimony regarding pay equity and technical classification remains part of the official public record for future labor negotiations.