Kevin Fitch, Cortland County Legislative Chair (R). (Photo provided by Cortland County).
The Cortland County’s Government Operations committee recommended Tuesday a 20% raise to county legislators, which amounts to about $2,000 per member of the county’s legislative body.
The measure passed the committee via a 4-3 vote.
Legislators currently receive a yearly salary of $10,000, while the majority and minority leaders get $10,500. The chair of the Legislature is paid $19,000. Their salaries have remained the same since 2015, when it was raised from $6,000 to the current salary.
The newly proposed rates, if approved by the legislature on Oct. 26, would see legislators earning $12,000 annually. Additionally, majority and minority leader roles would carry a $12,500 salary and the chair would receive $21,000. The raises would be effective starting next year if approved by the legislature.
Legislature Chair Kevin Fitch (R-LD-8) said Tuesday he came up with the 20% raise because he felt it was a “reasonable” amount. Raises have to be approved on election year before an election as opposed to in the middle of the term. He noted since the Legislature could lose two seats based on a proposition at the ballot box this November, the legislature may revisit salaries soon. The downsizing of the Legislature is a part of the county’s redistricting process, which saw legislators and community members redraw legislative districts based on recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures from the 2020 Census.
“The next term is one where we could take a look at (legislator salaries again),” he said.
Legislator Cathy Bischoff (D-LD-3) said she has scouted nearby counties with comparable population metrics to Cortland. She said she sees other counties paying legislators a higher salary. Bischoff spoke in support of the measure, but she is not a voting member of the Government Operations committee.
“Sometimes that's because they're full-time legislators and sometimes they just pay them more,” she said. “I know that many of you represent large districts and work hard. I know that we all have other assignments, which are never acknowledged by the public.”
Legislative Majority Leader George Wagner (R-LD-15) is set to retire once his term expires at the end of the year. He said Tuesday the job of legislator should pay at least $20,000.
“This is probably the hardest working Legislature I have ever seen,” Wagner said. “It’s going to continue this way. Inflation is still taking its toll. You're going to be asked to do more than you're doing now.”
Legislator Susan Wilson (D-LD-5) said she was conflicted regarding the raises.
“On one hand, raising the salaries would enable us to have a better representation of this county around this table,” she said, on the other, she added, the county Legislature has been divided on measures that would improve salaries for county workers. Ultimately, Wilson acknowledged, those measures were approved by the legislature.
“We raised our employee salaries, and I'm very proud of that, but we raised them kicking and screaming,” Wilson said. “And there were people that were against it. I still feel there is much work to be done on our employees salaries, and therefore, I feel that we should not have a raise until the employees have a raise.”
Paul Heider (R-LD-16) said he disagreed with Wilson, noting county employees are not “woefully underpaid.”
“Employees go through bargaining,” he said. “Quite frankly, I was excited the way the last two bargaining units handled their decision making. We did not hear anything against what the unions voted for.”
The county legislature will vote on adding the raises to the 2024 budget on Oct. 26. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
