2018-2025: Patti Adair Repeatedly Criticized Salary Raises For County And State Employees, Citing Budget Issues
2018: Adair Posted On Facebook Opposing Salary Increases For Deschutes County Staff
May 2018: Nugget Newspaper: Adair Criticized Incumbent County Commissioners For Raising The Pay Of County Staff. “Both Adair and Barbeau criticized the incumbent commissioners for raising the pay of county staff based on comparisons with districts that have a higher median income.” [Nugget Newspaper, 5/2/18]
April 2018: Adair Criticized County Worker Salary Increases, Implying They Were Fiscally Irresponsible. “FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: County salary rates far surpass what private employers in this county pay employees. While minimum wage is $10.25 in Oregon and many families work multiple jobs to make ends meet, last year Deschutes County employees were given a 3.7% raise – totaling almost $2 million (front page of Bend Bulletin, Dec. 8, 2017). This is on top of their annual 5% automatic raise and a variable cost of living adjustment. This additional above market raise increased the county’s salary obligation to $47.2 million. Commissioner Baney led that effort.” [Patti Adair 4 Deschutes, Facebook, 4/25/18]
Image: see original report, p. 40
[Patti Adair 4 Deschutes, Facebook, 4/25/18]
March 2022: Adair Allegedly Played “Super-Hardball” With AFSCME Regarding Salary Raises For County Employees In The Midst Of A Staffing Shortage
Commissioner Chang Alleged That Adair Played “Super-Hardball” For Nine Months With The Largest Union Of County Employees, AFSCME, Regarding Salary Raises For County Employees. “But a clear division on the Deschutes County Commission was on display Wednesday, as it voted 2-1 to approve the new three-year contract. The lone democrat, Phil Chang, criticized the deal, taking particular issue with a 2% salary adjustment for deputies that's on top of a cost of living adjustment of 3.5%. A 5.5% raise was not a condition offered to other county employees during nine months of aggressive labor negotiations with the county in 2021, Chang said. The county is facing staffing needs at nearly every level, from building inspector to psychiatric nurse, and rising inflation is pricing workers out of Bend. Chang said the deputy wage adjustment funds would have been better spent spread around the entire organization. ‘When I vote no, so everyone understands, I support all the provisions in this contract. I would just like to see a key benefit here extended to more of the county's departments,’ Chang said in Wednesday's meeting. ‘I do not think that this is fair and I do not think that it's good policy.’ Chang noted that while the sheriff's office contact won approval from the commission in less than two months, his fellow commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair played ‘super-hardball’ for nine months with the largest union of county employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. DeBone supported his approval vote on Wednesday by saying the 2% wage adjustment now gives AFSCME more bargaining power to ask for the same condition. He said in time, the provisions in the sheriff's office contract will apply to all county employees.” [Bend Bulletin, 3/13/22]
Bend Bulletin: Deschutes County Was “Facing Staffing Needs At Nearly Every Level, From Building Inspector To Psychiatric Nurse.” “A 5.5% raise was not a condition offered to other county employees during nine months of aggressive labor negotiations with the county in 2021, Chang said. The county is facing staffing needs at nearly every level, from building inspector to psychiatric nurse, and rising inflation is pricing workers out of Bend. Chang said the deputy wage adjustment funds would have been better spent spread around the entire organization. ‘When I vote no, so everyone understands, I support all the provisions in this contract. I would just like to see a key benefit here extended to more of the county's departments,’ Chang said in Wednesday's meeting. ‘I do not think that this is fair and I do not think that it's good policy.’ Chang noted that while the sheriff's office contact won approval from the commission in less than two months, his fellow commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair played ‘super-hardball’ for nine months with the largest union of county employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. DeBone supported his approval vote on Wednesday by saying the 2% wage adjustment now gives AFSCME more bargaining power to ask for the same condition. He said in time, the provisions in the sheriff's office contract will apply to all county employees.” [Bend Bulletin, 3/13/22]
August 2025: Adair Retweeted Criticism Of Pay Raises For Oregon Department Of Transportation Employees
August 2025: Adair Retweeted A Post Criticizing Pay Raises For Oregon Department Of Transportation Employees. Adair retweeted a post from Jeff Eager that read: “Rising ODOT employee costs exacerbated by the Governor's agreement to give unions big raises earlier this month. Same unions pushing hard for tax increase.” And included a screenshot of a headline reading “Oregon unions secure pay raises, more remote work flexibility for state workers.” [Patti Jean Adair, Twitter, 8/31/25]
Image: see original report, p. 41
[Patti Jean Adair, Twitter, 8/31/25]