The Albany County legislature this week passed a resolution to extend an $8,000 pay raise to its Deputy Chair. The move is raising eyebrows from minority Republicans.
Local Law A passed the Legislature 29-9. It would enable an increase in the annual salary for the “deputy chair” position created last year, presently held by Wanda Willingham of the 3rd district.
Deputy Minority Leader Paul Burgdorf, represents the 23rd District. The Legislative Law Committee member says Republicans maintain the proposed salary hike violates state law, directly contradicts the New York State Constitution and decades of legislative precedent.
"The Democrats are trying to create a salary now associated with the deputy chair, and we believe it's simply against state law, specifically the county law, which lists who can receive a stipend. And by the way, it's that county law that Albany County has relied on for the last 50 years. We believe giving a stipend to a legislator in midterm is unconstitutional and bad policy. Legislatures ignoring decades of precedent, state law, to raise the pay of one elected official in the middle of their term,” said Burgdorf.
6th District representative Sam Fein, a Democrat currently running for Albany Chief City Auditor, sees no deviance from the letter of the law.
"Legislation was put forward and we considered it and we're voted on changing the charter and following the proper processes to do this and that's the way this should be done in an open and transparent way," Fein said. "The position deputy chair person has additional responsibilities and I think it's fair that the deputy chairwoman is putting in the work gets compensated for her work, just like many of the other leadership positions so you know for me. It's about the position not the individual."
Burgdorf says if Willingham gets the salary bump, it could open the door for other raises.
"The legislature could decide that every committee chairman was doing extra work, and they needed an extra $10,000," said Burgdorf. "We would become a county government full of Lulus, and we're the most bloated county legislature in the state of New York, with 39 members, we have 10 committees. Are we going to be looking at committee chair stipends down the line? “
Reached for comment, Willingham deferred to the legislatures' Communications Director Ben Meyers, who emailed a statement on her behalf, which says in part: "All of this discourse is legally ludicrous and amounts to pointless politicking."
The statement continues, "I am confident in the legality of this law because it went through extensive legal review by the County’s counsel and there is also clear case law from the New York State Court of Appeals."
Burgdorf says the measure's fate is now in the hands of Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.
“He has to sign it within 10 days… If he does, and they go forward with this, we will be looking at the potential of possibly litigation. Obviously, probably it would be a Supreme Court action. I'm hoping that McCoy does a thorough evaluation of this and comes to the conclusion that this set of gymnastics to give one legislator $8,000 is so out of the norm that we don't want to break the balance we have for compensation for all other legislators and county officials,” Burgdorf said.
WAMC reached out to McCoy for comment.
