By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The Erie County Citizens Salary Review Commission is recommending pay raises for the County Executive and other top elected leaders. The Commission met Friday morning.
Under the recommendations, County Executive Joel Giambra would become the highest paid elected leader in the county at $140,000. Other pay raise recommendations would boost the annual salary of the clerk, sheriff, comptroller and Legislature. But Democratic Majority Leader Lynn Marinelli says those proposed pay raises add an additional $300,000 and now is not the time for increases.
"I will not vote for these recommendations," Marinelli said. "We have a couple of dynamics going on in this area right now that most people fully understand. We are in a tough economy. We have real people proposed to be laid off from county government and right now the county budget is very strained and built on many assumptions."
The Legislature must approve any pay raises.