OMB Redraw a Bigger Issue

The council has rejected similar requests to expand those localities in the past, in part because it was waiting for OMB to redraw standard metropolitan statistical area lines in light of data received in the 2000 census-a redrawing that OMB announced in June. The council has to decide whether changes in boundary lines are warranted in light of the new OMB metropolitan area definitions and if so, what criteria to use in redrawing the lines. If the new OMB lines were followed exactly, 13 counties currently in a locality pay zone would fall out and become part of the catchall “rest of the U.S.” locality, where salaries generally are lower. Most of the potentially affected employees are in Kings County, Va. and Berkeley County, W.Va., which could be removed from the Washington-Baltimore area, and in Monterey County, Calif., which could be removed from the San Francisco area. Meanwhile, 83 counties, most of them rural and with relatively few affected employees, now part of the catchall locality would be added to various metropolitan zones if the OMB lines are followed. Locality pay is paid based on where individuals work, not where they live. There is no deadline for deciding whether to redraw lines in view of the OMB action, although a decision could be made in tandem with a decision on whether to expand the Hartford, Miami or other localities.