Politics on the Hudson

Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano has just yanked a proposal to give pay raises to managers. The proposal, which was to be retroactive for 2008 and also apply to 2009, was taken off the table after a public hearing this morning drew 20 speakers against it.

Jorge Fitz-Gibbon wrote that the $890,000 package of raises “would mean 3.25 percent pay increases for about 340 supervisory personnel, which initially included County Executive Andrew Spano’s top 24 commissioners and department heads.

Spano and Board Chairman Bill Ryan announced the development in a joint news release.

“They have done an outstanding job and if times were better, they would be getting the increase they deserve,” Spano said of his managers in a statement. “But we all have to tighten our belts in times like this – and sometimes that hurts.”