Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Erie County Legislature in regular session on Thursday voted in favor 6-5 on the proposed pay raises suggest by the Citizens Salary Review Commission for elected county officials.
The raises, recommended by the county's Citizens Salary Review Commission, include raises for the county's comptroller, clerk, sheriff, the county executive and the legislators themselves, with the raises taking effect next election cycle.
Six of the seven representatives of the legislature's Democratic majority voted in favor of the raises, with the exception of 3rd District Legislator Michael Kooshoian of Tonawanda, with the rest of the nays being strong vocal opposition from the Republican minority caucus.
The legislators debated most heavily over raises for their positions.
"I voted against it because I think it's inappropriate," said Legislator John Mills.
"It's a part-time job. Legislator [Howard] Johnson says it's full-time for him, but if he puts in 20 hours a week, I'd be surprised. We're not in this job to collect a full-time paycheck. And I think it's inappropriate to tell the residents that we represent out there, that we need these kind of dollars to serve for them. We're caretakers of the assets of the taxpayers of Erie County. That's our job. And we run for the job knowing what it costs to run, and what it pays, and we've never had a problem getting legislators to run for that office."
Erie County Legislators base pay will go from $42,588 a year to $65,000, a 53% increase, with stipends remaining unchanged for the majority leader, minority leader and chairperson. And although they received the largest increase, they meet weekly and will receive the smallest raise dollar-wise.
Here's how the other raises that were recommended by the Citizens Salary Review Commission, finalized towards the end of March after a three-month discussion:
- County executive: From $139,932 annually to $175,000, a 25% increase
- Sheriff: From $101,811 annually to $150,000, a 47% increase
- Comptroller: From $107,160 annually to $140,000, a 31% increase
- County clerk: From $90,129 annually to $130,000, a 44% increase
Erie County Legislature Majority Leader Tim Meyers mentions that the legislature hasn't received a raise since 1996 and that the pay makes sense compared to what other legislators are receiving throughout the New York State.
"We looked around the state, there's many, many counties that have 29, 28, 27 legislators, and their pay is comparable. If you combine the salary of all eleven legislators here in Erie County, we are the second lowest throughout the state," Meyers notes.
However, Legislator Lindsay Lorigo points out that Erie County is the fourth highest paid county legislative body in New York State.
"They compare us to Monroe County, Albany County, Onondaga County, Niagara County, all of those legislatures, they meet at 6 p.m. on a weekday, there's a reason. If they feel that they need to have it be more accessible to have another job, maybe we should start meeting at 6 p.m. instead of noon on Thursday, it's ridiculous," says the legislator.
"I know it's difficult to hold another job, I know I'm one of the few in this body that doesn't own my own business or isn't a lawyer, isn't retired. I work in corporate America, I think it's really important that we have a diverse legislature that represents different interests, that we know what it's like to live the way our constituents do, that the cost of living is on the rise. But I don't get to just go back and tell my private employer, I need more money. Because my son's getting older and eating more, I have to earn more, I have to go out there and do it. And legislators should be doing the same so that they're in touch with the people they represent."
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Legislator Meyers believes that the community has had ample time to voice their concerns.
"It's always disappointing that there wasn't more people to speak on the issue, but it's been on every news channel, it's been in the news. The word has been out, I know there are some keyboard warriors out there that we have heard from so I mean, this is not a shock, it wasn't pulled out at the 11th hour. This has been talked about this commission has been enacted for months and months and months," said Meyers.
Legislator Lorigo notes that it's hard to get people to public hearings, especially on a sunny day in Buffalo, which is why she feels there needs to be a better way of documenting calls and emails from constituents.
"This has been laid on the table for a long time. I would say it's very difficult to get people to a public hearing, especially downtown on a beautiful June day. It wasn't one of the first warm days that we were having in a while. I think we need to take a better look at how we can document public opinion on this because I can tell you, we got emails, we got calls. But I don't think it's very often that people come to public hearings for the Erie County Legislature. I don't think that that means the people support this, I just think that it means that it was a sunny, sunny evening in Buffalo."