Two Democratic county officials want to see the clerk’s pay cut in the future as well as see legislators’ automatic pay raises eliminated.

CLERK PAY

Chautauqua County Legislator Bob Bankoski of Dunkirk has prefiled a local law to reduce the county clerk’s pay from $89,300 to $79,300 but not take effect until 2030. That is the next time the clerk’s office is up for election.

The local law notes that in 2018, the county clerk was earning $55,500 and was getting regular Cost Of Living Adjustments. In 2024, the county legislature voted to increase the pay by $17,880.

Bankoski was among the Democratic legislators who voted against the pay increase. It passed with only Republican support.

In an interview, Bankoski said that he still feels the clerk is being overpaid and wants to see the salary reduced.

Bankoski added that legally, the county legislature cannot reduce the salary until the office is up for election, which is why he is proposing to have the reduction take place in 2030.

The current clerk is Greg Carlson, a Republican, who was elected to the office last November.

Bankoski insists his proposal has nothing to do with Carlson. “He’s only been here six months. It’s no personal vendetta of me against him. I want to make that very clear,” he said.

Bankoski added that he has no idea if Carlson wants to run for re-election and added that it could be a different Republican or a Democrat who takes the office.

In an email, Carlson said he saw the proposal. “I’m aware of the proposed local law to reduce the County Clerk salary by $10,000, and it is up to the Legislature elected by the residents of Chautauqua County to decide if the reduction is warranted. Regardless of what the Legislature decides, I will serve Chautauqua County to the very best of my ability, and fully intend to run again in 2029 regardless of the salary,” he said.

LEGISLATOR PAY

Legislator Tom Nelson of Jamestown wants to remove the annual cost of living increases to individual legislators, which is set to begin in January.

“Since the beginning of the Chautauqua County Legislature in 1972, County Legislators have never received automatic Annual Cost of Living Adjustments,” the legislation states.

In 2024, the county legislature voted to increase the base salary of individual legislators from $9,000 to $14,732, an increase of about 64%.

It was the first pay increase in about 20 years.

The increase took effect Jan. 1, following the last election.

Along with the pay increase, legislators voted to add an annual Cost Of Living Adjustment, which the clerk, executive and sheriff all have.

“With inflation continuing to impact families across Chautauqua County, legislators should give up their automatic 2027 pay raise and provide taxpayers some relief,” Nelson stated in an email. “We need to make it more affordable for people to continue living here.”

Nelson said he is not opposed to “fair compensation” for public officials, but believes salary increases should be debated openly and approved publicly rather than built into law permanently.

“If county legislators believe a future pay increase is justified, they should vote on it publicly,” he said. “Automatic annual raises are not fair to county residents, many of whom do not receive guaranteed increases in their own pay.”

Nelson added that raises should be evaluated each year based on economic conditions, county finances, and the circumstances facing taxpayers.

“Many retirees, small business owners, and workers in struggling industries are dealing with rising costs without automatic increases in income,” Nelson said. “County government’s first obligation should be delivering services effectively to our constituents, not guaranteeing annual raises for ourselves.”

Nelson has proposed modifying the local law which gives legislators annual pay increases. He is not proposing to cut the Cost Of Living Adjustments to the clerk, sheriff or executive.

Nelson said he hopes the proposal will receive bipartisan support. “I hope legislators from both parties will support this measure and give county taxpayers a break,” he said.

Both proposals will be discussed by the Administrative Services Committee, which will meet Monday.

The full legislature will need to adopt either or both proposals in order to take effect. Their next meeting is May 27.

Republicans have a 12-7 majority in the legislature, so both proposals would need at least some Republican support to be enacted.