Myers on raises: not enough due diligence
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- December
- 17
It wasn’t just the GOP caucus on the Westchester County Board of Legislators balking on a pay-raise proposal. Legislator Judy Myers, D-Mamaroneck, just released this statement:
“I applaud the action taken by the County Legislature today to deny the legislative pay raise as proposed. (ed note: They didn’t deny them, just canceled the vote.)
“I did not support the pay raise proposal because I did not believe that the issue was afforded the same due diligence given to the 2008 County Budget as a whole. Until this due diligence is complete, including the establishment of a Legislative Compensation Committee and the issuance of an advisory opinion, I cannot in good faith vote for a stipend increase.
“I look forward to a timely recommendation for fair and equitable pay levels, from this committee. I thank the League of Women Voters, the Westchester County Association and other concerned taxpayers in this County for their input and I look forward to working together with my colleagues to serve the needs of the people of my district and the County as a whole.”
ADDED: Budget CommitteeÂÂ Chairman Mike Kaplowitz, D-Somers, handed out a similar press release at the meeting. So similar, that the first sentence and a half are more or less the same.
His said:
“I applaud the action of the legislature in denying the legislative pay raises as proposed.
“I did not support the legislative pay raise proposal because I don’t believe a compelling case was sufficiently made to support a stipend increase. Further, there was not appropriate public notice given nor opportunity for timely public input. Therefore, a pay raise is not justified at this time.
“Until a compelling case is made, the Board of Legislators should not raise stipends. Unless and until a compelling case be made (sic), and in recognition of just how tough the times are economically, and as we all worked so hard and successfully to keep our 20087 property tax increase as low as possible, so must we do the same with legislative pay.
“I look forward to the establishment of a blue-ribbon compensation committee that will recommend fair and equitable pay levels. I know we can move beyond this issue and together with my legislative colleagues can continue to serve the needs of the people of Westchester in the most cost-effective way.”
This entry was posted
on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 3:12 pm by Liz Anderson.
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“So similar, that the first sentence and a half are more or less the same.”
That’s because the same staff member wrote it.
I am glad to see that someone is thinking and now maybe the 4000+ employees that make these Legislators look good will now get a fair contract
Why is it not surprising that these characters would wait until 5 minutes after the election to try to grab raises for themselves and the dozens of no-show jobbers who are paid with our money to service the political debts of legislators.
Case in point: Alan Stahl, who ‘works’ for Burton and whose hefty pay helps carry the household expenses shared with Stahl’s domestic partner and Burton protege, Ossining mayor Bill Hanauer. Developers ask Burton for favors, Hanauer grants them, then we taxpayers pay Hanauer and Stahl and Burton.
Some setup, eh?
Thanks for clarifying today’s action. If the action was canceled but not denied, are these additional funds still added to the Board’s budget? Can they hire three new friends by simply approving unappropriated funds moved to new budget lines?
All of a sudden everyone is claiming that they opposed the pay raises from the start. What a crock of shite.
Certain Board members are running for cover when they actually were the ones pushing for the raise the whole time. The Chairman has been consistent the whle time. Listen to the words or read the words of particular legislators who are trying to drop this pay raise issue in someone else’s lap. If they are going to forgo the raise, just do so and stop pointing fingers. No one is up for election for another two years, all will be forgotten by then.
Unbelieveable!
Now the Dem Caucus is claiming kudos for what the Republicans have been saying all along! Chutzpah to the nth degree.
Well, congrats to Minority Leader Oros and the rest of the Repub Caucus for standing their ground. I doubt the Journal News or News 12 will be giving them any credit.
Taking the high road is never easy, and I am sure the Rep Caucus will pay for it. But at least THEY kept the TAXPAYERS in mind ahead of their own self interests from the beginning.And THAT is what they were elected for.
(As an aside, Funny how Kaplowity now says “I know we can move beyond this issue and together..” Now he’s distancing himself away from this issue? Is it because he has other aspirations that his vote would have hurt?)
Now, let’s see if the recommitted vote (not cancelled) means that a raise will not be allowed effective until 2009,not withstanding a “legislation review” committee decision.
Oh come on now. You bash Kaplowitz and other Dems for acceeding to the stipend increase for Ryan (by the way NOT A PAY RAISE for the members) then you don’t want to give those like Kaplowitz and Judy Myers that stood up against them. C’mon now – be fair.
There are some good people in there – but if you condemn even the ones who tried to stop the pay grab, you undercut them, and strengthen the hands of the Piggies who wanted the grab in the first place.
NONE of the Democrats tried to stop the pay grab. Not ONE spoke out until the done deal became an un-done deal. And STILL the ruse continues. As with taxes, they will tell us at the end that they decreased the amount of the theft because it is less than the original plan of theft. And they will effectuate the glom to a lesser degree than the original glom called for, telling us all what fiscal watchdogs they are. They are dogs, but they’re not watching.
What cowards – are you kidding me, they release a press release after the proposal is already sent back to committee and effectively killed. Where were Myers and Kaplowitz for the past week? The Republicans had the guts to take a stand and even drafted a thoughtful op-ed that was published in The Journal News. Although, I strongly oppose the stipend increase, I almost respect Ryan more for taking a stand for past week and sticking to it (even if it was very wrong). Myers and Kaplowitz apparently have no shame…they refused to take a public position all week and then send out a press release after the legislation is already killed. What does anyone voted for these two phonies?
The Journal News is now leading the charge to stop this Democratic thievery. But the same Journal News endorsed these bums, even though the paper knew Ryan and friends did the same thing in 2005 or so.
The Journal News is looking pretty silly, but still is
trying to make up for its past mistakes. Maybe they should get it right the first time around. That would be different.
Whoa! First things first. CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who made their voice heard. The legislator robber-barrons got rattled and rolled because so many of you made the effort to make life uncomfortable for them. Those emails and posts do have an audience. And that audience let these arrogant, self-serving, tax-guzzling politicians know that they have put on a very poor performance. They backed off because they felt the public heat. You were the ones to raise the temperature to generate a panicky sweat. Kudos to you all.
A good start, but a baby step. Momentum is the fuel of victory. Savor this
result, but understand full-well that heavy pressure is needed more than ever. These career public-siphons are sure to view this as a temporary hiccup…and in short order they’ll be back at their craft…and craftiness.
Spare them no ease…continue to fire away. Ratchet it up even more. All of us need to be more vigilant than ever because complacency is the great menace to genuine success.
Tomorrow, and for the days and weeks ahead, greet every bit of circumspect news with a barrage of opinions and demands for a new perspective on the role of county leadership. If we slough off, they’ll slither back to their old ways. Now is the time. Make them feel ever more uncomfortable…so uncomfortable that they’ll re-examine the breeches of public trust that gave rise to this justified outburst of disdain and disgust.
Again, thanks to all who rattled their cage. Stay on the leaders!
You know, it occurs to me that if these people need such large raises, and have sufficient lack of shame and chutzpah to unilaterally effectuate these constant dollar-grabs despite the public’s antipathy, they must need the money. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not greedy, and the only alternative theory is that they can’t function on the dollars they make with the county and elsewhere. This makes them, de facto bad money managers. These are the people who are deliberating and voting on application of a budget of almost 2 billion dollars. I, for one, am not comfortable, not with their arrogance, not with their financial acumen. All 17 of them, en -toto, could not run a successful delicatessen. Since they work for us (if there is still any truth to the questionable theory that politicians actually work for US,) it’s time, with sadness and empathy, to let them go elsewhere where they can rob someone else for a while, probably their new customers or clients, who will quickly show them the door as well when they find themselves paying way too much for way too little.
Oros is a hypocrite. He signed out the stipend increases from the rules committee. Oros was threatened with losing his leadership post and that is why he changed position. He could then get the raise and be agast that it happened.
The Journal News is also hypocritical about
today’s front page story on Zherka and the Guardian.
There is a comment about that under the Yonkers
Charter article below.
I believe Oros voted to have the full board review the proposal for a vote. Not that he approved an increase.
Spin it any way you want it, the Repubs came out immediately against the increases as well as the tax increase for the budget.
And the question of the 2005 pay raises, once approved, Whether or not someone voted for them, one cannot give them back, they are subject to tax against the person recieving them.
Some people should read the facts before they make statements.
Oros and the republicans have made it known from day one that they were against all the increases, budgetary as well as stipends and raises.
IF the little guy is getting socked, no reason for them to take the cream off the top. I for one, appreciate that.
The Repubs didn’t speak up about the pay increases until AFTER the Journal News editors blasted Ryan and the rest of the board so let’s try to not revise history and make Oros look good here.
Hey blah blah – you are wrong too. Most of the Republicans had no idea about the stipend increases until they read about it in the The Journal News on the day before the raises were to be approved. The very next day some of the Republicans came out against it and Republican Legislator Maisano was on News 12 that day saying he was opposed to the stipend increases. Also, the Republican caucus told the Democratic leadership that same day that were opposed to the raises and that was a major reason why the vote was delayed for a week. The Republicans were very clear in their opposition from the start of this debate.