Orange County has offered its 13,300 rank-and-file employees a raise of 4.75% for the current year, at a total estimated cost of nearly $40 million. The raise slightly outpaces anticipated inflation for the coming year. County officials said they were trying to bring salaries in line with those offered by other local governments, and employee union representatives said the raises were deserved because the union had helped the county save money in the last year.
See "Orange County Offers 4.75% Raise to 13,300 Employees", Christian Berthelsen, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2006