TAMPA — Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner wanted answers.
Instead, he got a lecture.
Beckner asked Thursday for a comprehensive analysis of how County Administrator Pat Bean doles out raises, after learning her top deputies got hefty ones late last year.
"On the surface, this decision is a slap in the face, and it's an insult to every employee in the organization," Beckner said.
By introduction, Beckner said he realized his fellow commissioners might not feel comfortable tackling such a sticky subject in public.
But he, for one, wasn't going to let the matter slide without a thorough vetting.
He wasn't on the board when the raises were awarded, having taken office just afterward.
"I am here now," Beckner said.
Other board members sat silently as Commissioner Rose Ferlita got up to ask a clerk to replay Beckner's opening comments over headphones.
Then she sat back down assured she had heard when she thought.
Then she turned to Beckner, starting out by addressing him as "young man."
Commissioners are within their rights to seek answers to issues they feel are important, she said. But questioning their colleagues' willingness to address tough issues, or suggesting they'd prefer to do it out of the public eye, is not the right approach.
"I think there's a way to do that, there's an adult way to do that," Ferlita said, adding later. "I don't think you make your points by grandstanding."
Beckner said he meant no insult. He was just simply saying that talking about employees' pay can be uncomfortable, but he thought the matter should be aired.
"It's sensitive information," he said.
The St. Petersburg Times reported last week that Bean handed out raises to her top six deputies in November ranging from 7 to 17 percent.
She has said she gave out the raises for promotions that four of the six received, and noted all have taken on additional duties.
That news comes as commissioners consider cuts that could eliminate more than 1,000 jobs, and remaining employees are facing pay reductions.
Beckner questioned whether Bean followed county policy governing raises greater than 5 percent. He has asked that county auditors review executive pay raises since 2000 to see what it reveals.
He also wants to see comparisons of executive pay and job duties from other, similarly sized counties.
Commissioners ultimately voted 7-0 in support of his request with little other discussion.
Bill Varian can be reached at varian@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3387.
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