The Niagara County Legislature held a special meeting Monday to amend the tentative 2024 county budget to include a $5,000 raise for each legislator. The vote to amend the budget was 15-0.
County Manager Rick Updegrove released the tentative budget earlier this month without the raises shown.
Legislature chair Rebecca Wydysh said the late amendment was a product of “group discussion” after the legislature had already set the public hearing date on the budget.
“We were focused on other things, like taking care of our employees before we thought of ourselves,” Wydysh said. “This resolution didn’t come from any one legislator and had to come through the administration committee.”
The budget amendment shows these changes in legislators’ pay in 2024:
• Legislator — $24,075.
• Majority and minority caucus leaders — $24,575.
• Legislature chair — $27,075.
The pay for each post is being bumped up by $5,000.
Minority caucus leader Chris Robins, D-Niagara Falls, said he thinks that dollar amount reflects the combination of New York State minimum wage requirements and pay increases provided in the county’s collective bargaining agreements with employee unions. The fact that legislators last received a raise in 2017 also played a role, he said. The legislators’ last raise before that was in 2000.
To put the figure in perspective, county Public Information Officer Kevin Schuler said: if the CSEA contract had been used as a guide for compensating legislators since 2000, legislators would now be making $26,711 per year, about 10% more than what’s proposed in the revised budget.
Tenth district legislator David Godfrey, R-Wilson, chair of the administration committee, said he thinks a raise for legislators is justified, considering that the job can take more than 40 hours a week at times, between committee meetings, legislature meetings and attendance at community meetings and functions.
The tentative 2024 budget is $432.5 million, reflecting a $23.8 million increase in spending. Even so, due to increased overall taxable property value, the county tax rate is set to fall. The projected rate, $5.08 per $1,000 of assessed value, is 51 cents less than the 2023 rate.
The public hearing on the revised tentative budget is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. Dec. 5 in legislative chambers at the county courthouse.