Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. It was scanned using Xerox software and equipment at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using CCITT Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1984. The production of this volume was supported in part by the New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials and the Xerox Corporation. Digital file copyright by Cornell University Library 1994.County Salaries A COMMUNICATION TO THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BY THE WESTCHESTER CO. RESEARCH BUREAU 15 Court Street WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORKCOUNTY SALARIES Honorable Board of Supervisors of Westchester County, White Plains, New York. Dear Sirs: The Westchester County Research Bureau presents the re- sults of a comparative examination of administrative salaries in the counties of Westchester, Erie, Monroe and Onondaga. The salaries of department heads and of sundry deputies have been the subject of much discussion in Westchester County. The Bureau has encountered more criticisms of this feature of the county government, perhaps, than of any other single subject except tax administration. Local tax payers frequently query why Westchester County pays so much larger salaries than other counties, and these questionings frequently take the form of adverse criticism. Conversations with various members of your honorable board have led the Bureau towards the conclusion that the vot- ing of such salaries has in most cases been rather a matter of re- sponding to appeals from individual officers and departments than of adjusting compensation on the basis of any scientific standards of service rendered or called for in the offices concern- ed. Individual members of your board have expressed the belief that some, at least, of the salaries are too large. It appears to have been the custom of the board of super- visors of Westchester County not to fix the amounts of salaries of county officers until the officers themselves have been elected or appointed; and after election to fix the salary of the successful candidates. It also appears, from the record of the proceedings, that such action is occasionally taken on strictly partisan lines. This method seems intrinsically bad. Salaries should on princi- ple be fixed and determined before even nominations are made for the positions in question, and certainly before individual can- didates are elected. The approaching expiration of the terms of office of a num- ber of present incumbents offers immediate opportunity for re- lvision of the salary schedules of the county, and the Bureau re- quests that the board of supervisors seriously consider, before election, the fixing of definite standards of compensation for all county officers where new elections or appointments are to be made this year; and that they have that matter settled and out of the way before election day if possible. For the convenience of your board the Bureau presents com- parative tables of salaries paid in Westchester County and those paid in the only three other counties in the state outside of New York City, which approach this county in population, assessed valuation, and the amount of public business transacted; namely, the counties of Erie, Monroe, and Onondaga. The county of Erie exceeds that of Westchester in both assessed valuation and pop- ulation. The county of Monroe is very close to Westchester in both respects. The county of Onondaga is not so large as West- chester in either respect. The actual comparison from the latest census and statistics available is as follows: Comparison of Erie, Westchester, Monroe and Onondaga Conn ties in Population, Wealth, and Total County Budget For the Year 1916 1916 1916 1916-1917 Connty Population Assessed Valuation Total Budget Erie 690,000 $486,214,665 $2,810,678.22 Westchester 321,713 $448,276,201 $1,243,431.64 Monroe *325,000 $312,813,139 $1,027,798.33 Onondaga 213,902 $193,170,475 $1,053,655.26 With the above table in mind, the Bureau asks your honor- able board now to consider the following comparison of salaries; taken from the budget appropriations of the several counties. * Estimate by Health Department. 2TABLE OF COMPARATIVE SALARIES (3)Westchester County \_Erie County 1 Monroe County 1 Onondaga County o o o o 0 0 • O • O 0 p . 0 • O 0 0 ! 0 I O 0 0 . 0 . 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CD ' ©< a -H> fl fH .S pj » © w> © Eh © a ■g ..sh g s fl •+-> ro a 3 o w 5 * a P<«w M p © a © -a © a< a cq p © ,a © .a a a a >p o a a o © a Q. 3o h © # 2 ! a »a © © a -a a © OH o -*-> a fH © Pi Ofl SSgfel © © a R v 2S|§«5|s aa^©©©^a cdujraaaaao bhJuHHOpii (4) ______________________|__________$28,192.00 1... ......... 1_______$29,600.00 |_____$43,234.20 * In Erie County the County Treasurer also handles the collection of a large part of the taxes of Erie County. It is for this reason that so many extra clerks are employed temporarily. § The Treasurer of Erie County receives about $200 to $300 annually in fees for collection of bank taxes.(s)(6) | The County Clerk of Onondaga receives about $250.00 annually for hunting license fees and $300.00 for maintaining the Torrens System. t The County Clerk is also register of deeds in these counties. *No Register in these counties. Duties of Register are performed by County Clerk.© © © © &JQ © © © © O £ © © © eo «/&■ O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O o o o to tH , N 00 Ttt Cvf • tH tH /—n • o 0 o 0000 0000 0000 IO O O O HHOC5 o to OOO OOO OOO O to o to o 00 tH to o © © o © © © © o o to to cq t- 00000 00000 to to 00 00 OOO OOO OOO o Is3 65 g s © © - J* © 5® f© s *3cq © ,© a © U U f-t 5^® o wj 5 © 2 S § a cq ^ g >* CD © © % s Q o <$ w a © (>> >» © -+J -M m © © ^ © a P»3 O © -SOQ © © * © a ft IP W +J © r© © 42 w o od . o S£{ * © ^ ■3 m >■> +5> 4J <1 <1 *»tr © V. © . ^ W o. sgf s*". w u . a 5 -t-3 © ® £ w *2 b£) -m ^•£<^0^0 +J © Jh fli M +J t! (P (P Q H N rS 5 : >* . o • a :! ?! .2 tH tH tH t-T «*■ i-r CO oo- /-S^-S k—N CO CO CO CO oo w w w w o o o o o o- t- p p p p o p p © d d d d CD CD o o o o ID CO oo p p tH^ p rH p p ©q uo 00 ©0 tH CO cd" «©• tH tH €^- CO CO o o o o o o o • o • o • o t- o o o o o • o 60- ooooo o o • O • O • o CD O Olfliop • o o o o o o d d ; d ; d ;oho ©HOO© ■ d OWUJOO IO LO . O . LO .0)00 W LO O tO CO . ^ OO p r±i ©q CO ON . °° . co .eoooo HTf C5t> • ^ tH tH tH rH rH r-T t-" T—1 tH tH H'O CO 00- /“N 00 ©0 ^ Tin 00 w 'w" o o o o o p o p d d d d o o rH rH p p p CO T—1 CO aT CO C/3- rH o • o • • o • o o • o o o o • o • • o • oo • p o o d ; d ; ; d : do ; d d d O . ©0 . .CO . O 00 . oo co cn CD .CD ; . o . Nt- . ^ t- p^ «* tH tH rH rH ,—, CO CO CO w «*h d © © d © p jrH qj Si -M O P O © w» pH L^O -S^ © P ±2 20 g o p © 43 H© pj . . 4s © d o © a a © •K © © © S M Q p$ P G£ © 2 ! ft _ © O E-T © 0(3 rrt A ij d ©,s2H - © -£ m .S © a? p llflsgg M M W Ph fS H ft" * « bjp'g d P © • © ?H * © * ft ’ w P ft S+J © : d q © w P P ,d ”5 g . a £. o p ^OCQ © ft u ut P W2 r-H m> ^ o “ : : : § ft © 'd u * ^ S fn A rC> d Cl) d r^Oft] © Ph P © © u ^ H *s (p p ^ ^ o » t> M *d +5 *3 g o &J3 r 1 Ph P © © £ '—' i J? w d 3 © u ^ . J | o m ® .£; o ^ PQ^MWHfcQaO © sc (io)(II)Westchester County 1_Erie County_[ Monroe County | Onondaga County (12)* 0 0 © V S3 6fi S3 0 . © o 0 0 © © © 0 © & 0 0 © w i© o 1© o oo ««* o © © o o o o 05 ^ t- O O 0 O l© l© O O 0 0 O O O 0 Tt< 05 05 O Th O 05 rd 5 go « 2 W).S bJD rt © § g £ © Cj p ■P >-H fi CQ P Ph © f 'd "S o W)*£j TJ 03 m a? © a 5p © H (13)COMPARISON OF SALARIES PAID TO CERTAIN DEPARTMENT HEADS IN THE COUNTIES OF WESTCHESTER, ERIE, MONROE AND ONONDAGA Salaries Department Head Westchester Erie Monroe Onondaga _______________________(1916 Budget)_______________________ County Attorney .................. Comptroller (or Auditor) ......... Treasurer ........................ County Judge ..................... Surrogate ........................ County Clerk ..................... Register (Average profit in W. Co.). Commissioner of Jurors............ District Attorney ................ Sheriff .......................... Supt. of Highways ................ Purchasing Agent ................. Coroners ......................... Medical Examiner ................. Com’r of Charities and Corrections.. Supt. of Poor..................... $6,000 $3,500 $3,500 $2,500 6,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 10,000 5,000 4,500 4,000 10,000 7,500 7,000 5,000 10,000 7,500 7,000 5,000 10,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 10,000 3,500 4,500 4,666 2,666 10,000 7,500 5,000 3,700 10,000 5,000 4,000 4,000 5,000 3,270 3,000 3,000 3,000 4,000 2,500 2,800 (4) 8,000 (2) 4,000 2,500 2,500 .... 10,666 5,000 — 2,500 2,666 2,500 $111,500 $66,770 $54,500 $45,000 14The foregoing tables show that Westchester County pays almost twice as much salary for department heads as does the largest county in the State, outside of the city of New York, al- though both the total population and the total budget of that larger county are more than double those of Westchester. In preparing this report it has been the Bureau’s aim to pre- sent the results of a careful study of facts and conditions, im- portant to all the people of Westchester County; and it earnestly requests the board of supervisors to give these data and sug- gestions their serious and impartial consideration. Nothing in this report reflects on any public official; we offer an impartial survey of actual compensations received, and state what we judge would be adequate salaries for the services required. Upon such basis we invite the attention of your board to the following considerations regarding particular officials and salaries. County Attorney We are cognizant of the fact that an act of the last legisla- ture placed the matter of legal counsel for this county upon a much improved basis. Whereas it formerly cost the county $2500.00 a year for counsel to the treasurer, $2000.00 for the counsel to the sheriff, $10,000.00 for counsel to the Bronx Val- ley Sewer Commission, $6000.00 or $8000.00 for investigation of titles and conduct of proceedings relating to lands for highway purposes, etc., the employment of special counsel for these several separate purposes has been abolished. Henceforth, instead of a total of from $20,000.00 to $25,000.00 a year paid for these pur- poses, the county attorney is directed by this statute to act as counsel to all county officials and departments. Although the act permits further employment of special counsel when approved by the board of supervisors, it is hoped that a considerable sav- ing from this act will be developed for the county. In this respect, however, Westchester County does not ap- pear to be more advanced, despite its special legislation on this subject, than any of the other three counties in our comparative study. Not only is the county counsel of each of these counties required to serve in all capacities which the Westchester special act requires of the county attorney, but in no case is so large an 15amount set aside for salary to the county attorney. Monroe and Erie pay, each, but $500.00 more than half the amount paid by Westchester; Onondaga, $500.00 less than half. Comptroller In the case of the comptroller of Westchester County as compared with the auditors of the several other counties, the superior compensation of the Westchester County comptroller seems justified by the fact that he has an office of greater re- sponsibility than the auditors in the other counties. In Erie, however, the act under which the auditor operates gives him au- thority approximating that of our comptroller. The Westchester County comptroller being the county’s chief fiscal officer, should justly receive a higher compensation than any other fiscal officer, and the amount set by the board for his salary appears to the Bureau not to be inapppropriate to cover the services called for. His duties bring up, however, the question as to what should be the compensation of the county treasurer, whose duties now, in this county, are simply those of a disbursing officer practically without discretion. County Treasurer The county treasurer is principally a custodian of the coun- ty’s finances, with little or no discretionary power, receiving and disbursing moneys only under the written direction of some su- perior authority or upon regulations specifically laid down in the statutes. He is not the holder of a position that calls for any unusually high degree of compensation,—certainly not for a sal- ary in excess of that paid to the chief financial officer of the county, the county comptroller. Comparing the department of the treasurer of Westchester County with that of other counties, it would seem that $4000.00 would be a fair compensation for the head of this department. It assuredly seems an absurdity that the treasurer of West- chester, receiving and disbursing six or eight million dollars a year, and employing a force of three or four clerks, should re- ceive $4000.00 a year more than the treasurer of New York State, who handles sometimes, hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and employs a regular staff of twelve men in addition to numer- 16ous temporary employees for special purposes. Under present conditions, the treasurer’s position in Westchester County is practically a sinecure. County Clerk Westchester County pays its county clerk a salary $4000.00 higher than that of New York’s secretary of state, although there is no comparison between the duties and responsibilities of the county clerk and those of the secretary of state, either in volume or importance, or in the number of men required to per- form the work of his office. The secretary of state is paid $6000.00 a year, employs a staff of one hundred and eighty-five men, and serves in innumerable important capacities in the state government. To compare our county clerk’s department with the county clerk’s department in other counties in the state, gives sufficient basis for recommending a marked reduction of the salary of this office as now established. In Erie, Monroe and Onondaga coun- ties, the county clerk serves in each instance as register also, there being no separate register in any of these counties. Erie County pays $5000.00 and the other two counties, $4000.00 each to the county clerk. The only additional compensation allowed in any of these counties being small fees on hunting licenses, etc., and a small stated salary for registration under the Torrens system. In none of these three counties does such extra com- pensation total much more than $500.00 a year. All the other fees received in those offices are paid into the county treasuries. In Westchester County the amount of fees paid to the county treasurer by the county clerk for 1916 was $10,482.50, and the gross fees taken in by the register was $40,000.00* making a gross total of $50,482.00.* In Erie, Monroe and Onondaga the nett amounts of fees paid into the respective treasuries in 1916 from the offices of county clerk and register, were $46,101.00*, $46,758.00 and $44,552.00. Consequently for taking in about the same amount of fees as in any one of the other three counties, the county clerk and register of Westchester together are com- pensated by about four times the amount paid to the county * Estimate by the Register, t After paying certain departmental expenses. 17clerk and register of Erie, and more than four times the amounts paid to the officers performing similar duties in either, of the other two counties. Incidentally, it may be remarked that the total number of documents filed and recorded in either Erie or Monroe was greater than in Westchester. The salary of the county clerk should not exceed $5,000.00 and that of the county register should not exceed $5,000.00. The statutes should be so framed as to provide that these officers should pay all fees into the county treasury, and let the board of supervisors create positions under the civil service law for the necessary clerical service in the register’s department, and fix compensation commensurate with the service called for. Sheriff Erie County pays its sheriff $5000.00 a year with no addi- tional fees. Monroe County and Onondaga County, each $5000.00 a year, likewise without fees,—Westchester pays its sheriff a sal- ary of $10,000.00 a year and fees, the amount of which is not made public. The Bureau has been credibly informed that such fees often equal the salary. Certainly the fees should be paid into the county treasury and the salary should not exceed that of the chief fiscal officer of the county. Coroners Erie has led in the abolishment of coroners. It has no cor- oners. It has a medical examiner who is responsible to the com- missioner of charities and corrections. This medical examiner conducts inquests and performs all important functions which Westchester County’s four coroners perform. He receives $2,- 500.00 a year. Westchester pays to its four coroners $8000.00 a year! Commissioners of Charities and Corrections Erie and Westchester are the only ones of the four counties compared that have commissioners of charities and corrections. The salary in Erie is $5000.00. The Erie commissioner directs the activities of all the several branches of the department. His responsibilities and powers are perhaps not quite so great as those of the commissioner of charities and corrections of West- chester County. Therefore it would seem appropriate that the 18commissioner of charities and corrections here should receive a somewhat larger compensation than such officer in Erie County. The Bureau would suggest compensation for the commissioner of charities and corrections of not more than $6,000.00 a year with the residence to be provided by the county. In the case of this office the present salary was not fixed as the result of any suggestion of the present commissioner. Not only that, but it is well known that the present commissioner turns over his entire salary for the use of the department over which he pre- sides. But that disposition of the salary cannot reasonably be expected from future occupants of the office. District Attorney The district attorney of Westchester employs two assist- ants, a stenographer, a clerk and a detective called the county investigator,—in all, a staff of five. The district attorney of Erie County employs one first assistant, six other assistants, three stenographers,—in all a staff of ten. The district attorney of Monroe County employs likewise, a staff of ten. The district at- torney of Onondaga County has a staff of five,—two of the afore- said counties employing larger, and none of them a smaller staff than the district attorney of Westchester. The district attorney of Erie is paid $7,500.00; of Monroe County $5,000.00; of Onon- daga County $3,700.00; and of Westchester $10,000.00. It is not clear why the district attorney of Westchester should be paid so much. The amount of business transacted by his office is not so large as that of either Monroe County or Erie County, nor does he require so large a staff of assistants to administer his office. It would seem that $6,000.00 a year should be enough for this office. In the cases of other department heads it does not seem necessary to comment in this place. The figures tabulated here- in speak for themselves. Proximity of New York: Election Expenses We have not been unmindful of the greater cost of living near New York. It clearly does not call for such excesses of salaries. Nor has the argument advanced by certain county officers that they need the large salaries to pay their election expenses 19appealed to us. It does not seem that salaries should be fixed on any such basis. If the county were to subsidize election cam- paigns, it would be a better plan to pay legitimate election ex- penses on presentation of proper vouchers. This would be a form of open subsidy instead of paying extravagant salaries as veiled subsidies. Deputies and Assistants No branch of the subject needs more careful or detailed at- tention than that of the compensation of deputies and assist- ants and other subordinates, with possible gradations for length of service. Only systematic standards can afford a solution. If such standards were adopted there could not longer be an opportunity for the constant arguments or bickerings over in- creasing salaries of employees. Every one upon entering the county’s service would know exactly what opportunities lay be- fore him, and could shape his plans and prepare himself accord- ingly. As it is now, there is a continuous rivalry and competi- tion between the employees of the different departments as to in- crease of salary, and the result is oftentimes jealousy and bit- terness, which cannot fail to detract from whole-hearted service. Whatever further information the Bureau has on the sub- ject will be promptly furnished to the board on request. Most respectfully submitted, WESTCHESTER COUNTY RESEARCH BUREAU, By Otho Gr. Cautwbight, Director. 20