The years have been kind for at least a few office-holders
Some elected officials get more pay for serving longer — but that’s an exception
In a region known for elected officials holding seats for decades, a select few Capital Region officials are being compensated even more for their permanence.
Former Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings — who served on the Common Council for 14 years prior to mayor for two decades — collected an additional $8,000 over eight years when the city in 2007 started paying money to longserving, full-time city employees.
This was on top of the $135,403 salary for mayor.
Both Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and county Comptroller Michael Conners get an extra $2,250 each year for their long tenure, which couples
with their salaries — $121,932 and $118,593, respectively.
Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney received an additional $10,220 on top of his $183,400 salary last year, and if he hits 30 years, it’ll increase to $12,585.
Typically called longevity pay, communities in the Capital Region vary widely on if and how the practice is implemented, but it’s rare that local government provides the perk to elected officials, a Times Union review of area communities’ practices shows. The extra pay usually is based on contract negotiations, or human resources practices for appointed, non-union staff, but some local governments provide the benefit to long-serving elected officials as well.
‘Easier to implement’
Earlier this year, former Albany Common Council member Judd Krasher cried foul on the capital city’s practice of doling out longevity pay to council members — a position he sees as part-time and ineligible for the perk.
Yet, members in 2014 passed a resolution setting the standard work day at six hours, allowing them to qualify. Albany’s policy gives longevity pay to full-time, non-union employees who work 30 or more hours a week, starting at five years of service, paying $550 annually and increasing up to $1,000 for more than 20 years. The pay also is extended to other elected officials, like mayor, treasurer and auditor.
E.J. Mcmahon, founder and research director at the Empire Center, a fiscal watchdog group, bristled at the notion that any municipality would be giving longevity pay to elected officials.
“I think elected officials have always been and always should be viewed differently. A pay level should be set for elected office, and that’s it,” Mcmahon said. “I think it’s highly inappropriate, no matter how widely it’s done, and inconsistent with law that sets the salary for the position, not the individual.”
Longevity pay in the public sector is a common practice that goes back decades, and was created to reduce turnover as well as provide an objective way of giving someone a pay bump without it being influence by favoritism or discrimination.
But some criticize the practice since it doesn’t factor in the employee’s overall performance.
In the town of Knox, which previously had the same supervisor for 42 years, current Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis said the town doesn’t have longevity pay and would rather employees be rewarded through merit.
“Great employees should be acknowledged, rewarded, and retained for their accomplishments,” he said. “Using public funds to reward employees, or elected officials, in the form of longevity pay simply because they’ve been in a position for a certain period of time makes little sense to me.”
Ellen Rubin, an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany, said that’s often the criticism, since longevity doesn’t recognize high performers, or impose penalties for poor performers.
“Defining good or poor performances is difficult, so sometimes governments will adopt longevity pay because it’s easier to implement,” she said. “When we’re talking about elected officials, how do we define good performance? The ultimate measure of performance is —are they re-elected?”
Longevity typically is negotiated within union contracts, and can vary from state-to-state and by local government. Some municipalities may then adopt a practice for full-time, non-union employees, as is the case for various communities in the Capital Region.
While Saratoga Springs and the town of Colonie do provide longevity pay to full-time employees, it isn’t provided to elected officials.
That’s not the case in Albany and Schenectady counties, where district attorneys, county clerks, sheriffs, county executives and comptrollers all receive the pay when officials hit their respective benchmarks. However, county legislators — considered part-time employees — do not receive longevity.
The communities that provide longevity pay to full-time elected officials couldn’t pinpoint why the practice began. In Albany County, it dates to at least the late-1990s, but Human Resources Commissioner Jennifer Clemens said it was instituted by the county Legislature.
In the capital city, the policy took effect in 2007 when Jennings was mayor. Jennings didn’t return calls for comment for this story.
‘Highlighting loyalty’
When the pay kicks in and how much an employee is compensated also varies widely — from $150 for three- and four-year employees in Albany County, to $2,517 for 10-year employees in Schenectady County. Schenectady has the most generous policy among those reviewed — capping at $12,585 after 30 years of service.
“When you pay based on longevity, you’re highlighting loyalty and experience versus performance,” said Janet Marler, a professor at Ualbany’s School of Business. “Sometimes there is a perception that performance no longer counts, it’s all about staying there. That may be good for the organization, but it may not be. It depends on the organization.”
The practice certainly has some elected officials in the Capital Region reconsidering taking the extra pay, yet there’s no legislation to reform the practice.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who was eligible for longevity pay based on the city’s policy after her first year as mayor since she served four years as treasurer, said she’s never taken the extra pay because she doesn’t think it’s appropriate.
“I think longevity pay is typically given as an incentive and reward to continue longevity. I don’t really think that elected officials need to be incentivized to continue to be public servants,” she said. “That’s not to be critical of elected officials who take the longevity pay.
For me, it’s not consistent with what drives me with respect to my decision to run for re-election and continue to serve the residents of the city of Albany.”
Sheehan said reviewing the policy is certainly something worth having a discussion with Albany Common Council leadership on, along with the city’s insurance buyout practice. The latter allows employees to take an annual stipend in lieu of health insurance.
Meanwhile, the Albany County comptroller — who collects the additional pay — said he could take or leave it. Conners said if the county Legislature changed the policy, “that wouldn’t bother me.”
“Although, I would be opposed to it if they decided to do it for other employees as well,” he added. “I see differentiating for elected officials.”
“I think elected officials have always been and always should be viewed differently. A pay level should be set for elected office, and that’s it. I think it’s highly inappropriate, no matter how widely it’s done, and inconsistent with law that sets the salary for the position, not the individual.” — E.J. Mcmahon, founder and research director at the Empire Center