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One Chautauqua County legislative committee is backing a proposal to increase salaries of high-end managers.
During the legislature's Audit and Control Committee meeting Thursday, members unanimously agreed to a local law to adjust the management salary ranges to 1.5%.
Earlier in the week, the legislature's Administrative Services Committee failed to back the raises. Regardless of committee action, the full legislature must still approve the local in order for the raises to take effect.
Human Services Director Jean Riley told the Audit and Control Committee that there are 12 high-end managers who would be affected by the raise. Administrative Services Committee members were told there were six people, however Riley said that is incorrect.
According to county Budget Director Kathleen Dennison, if all 12 managers received a 1.5% raise, it would cost the county $16,990. She told the Administrative Services Committee there are another 98 county managers scheduled to get a 3% raise in 2021. That raise was authorized when the legislature approved its 2021 budget in October.
According to Audit and Control Committee Chairman Chuck Nazzaro, D-Jamestown, the idea of a 1.5% raise came from the COVID Finance ad hoc committee, of which he is a member.
"We don't look at individuals, we don't look at the positions, but there are some individuals who are at the top of their pay ranges," he said. "The thought on this was we still want to give increases, but those at the top of the range would be limited to one and a half percent."
Riley said from her perspective, raises help keep employees from leaving. "If we don't keep our ranges adjusted, eventually we're going to hit a problem with our ranges do not fit with what the rest of the marketplace is doing," she said.
County Finance Director Kitty Crow noted that some county managers may be upset getting a lower raise than others. "If I were one of them it would feel resentful to me that here I have been here this long, especially working hard this year, that I would be treated inequitably compared to my fellow managers simply because of the salary range. If you're going to give some of the people one and half percent because of the range then in my view give everyone one and a half percent. Don't give some people one and a half percent and some people three percent. I don't see how that's equitable. That's my personal view that I'm sharing with your committee for consideration," she said.
Nazzaro, however, felt a 1.5% raise is fair, especially due to the circumstances. "We're living through a pandemic. Businesses are closing. Everyone is working hard and I don't want to hear anymore that everyone is not working. Everyone is working hard including this legislature. I think as a compromise, the one and a half percent on the salary range is fair. It's the inflation rate," he said.
Committee member Mark Odell, R-Brocton, agreed. "One and a half percent increase is responsible. It's in line in congruent with the consumer price index and actual rates of inflation," he said.
Committee member Terry Niebel, R-Sheridan, said he wanted to delay voting until after talking to members of the Administrative Services Committee who voted against it in committee. However, county attorney Stephen Abdella noted that the Audit and Control Committee's endorsement is not necessary for the legislature to vote on it next week, because the local law has already been prefiled by three individual legislators. Those legislators are Nazzaro, Jay Gould, R-Ashville and Pierre Chagnon, R-Bemus Point. None of them said they were planning on withdrawing the proposed legislation.
The full legislature is scheduled to meet virtually Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. where they will take up the local law.