Sheriff's salary makes the job a tough sell
Erie County Democrats are searching for a candidate for sheriff this year, and by all accounts, it's a tough sell.
That's because the $79,000 salary for the post has not been raised in 20 years, and by law, cannot be raised in a year when taxes are hiked. And in 2009, county taxes increased.
For most people, a $79,000 salary looks like a pretty good deal. But many senior police officers make that or more with overtime, and are not very excited about assuming the headaches of running a major sheriff's office for that kind of money.
As a result, many potential candidates for sheriff cannot afford to consider the race, and most applicants are those who are in a position to retire. Then they can collect a pension on top of the sheriff salary.
"The major problem is what it pays," Erie County Conservative Chairman Ralph C. Lorigo said. "By law, you can't get a raise in any year that taxes go up."
Do you think that after 20 years, it's time for the salary for such a major position to be upgraded?
Do you believe the low salary in relation to other posts (the undersheriff makes $105,000 per year) discourages qualified candidates?
Or do you think it's fine just the way it is?
-- Robert J. McCarthy
Tim Howard is worth more than double that meager salary. The law must be changed, and police have a large enough lobby to do so
Posted by: Bill | May 12, 2009 at 07:36 PM
Let the people decide. Put proposals on the ballot. I am sure good candidates will still be interested in a job that pays like that and carries some prestige.
Posted by: pat | May 12, 2009 at 07:55 PM
To pay the sheriff less than his or her subordinates is just plain ridiculous. If the citizens of Erie County want to attract good candidates for the position the pay has to be appropriate. Change the stupid law!
Posted by: Carl | May 12, 2009 at 11:37 PM
The salary probably should be increased, and could be in a year in which county taxes did not increase, but which politician is going to suggest a pay raise for a position that already makes well above the median local income?
We've gotten ourself so wound up that there would be a firestorm of criticism about pork, etc. and it would go nowhere.
This is one downside of our somewhat reformed political system. In the old days where a couple of political bosses ran everything, if the Demorcratic boss and Republican boss got together and decided the Sheriff needed a raise it would get put through and no one would use it against anyone else.
Just imagine the rhetoric now if Collins or Marinelli took the first step toward doing this.
Posted by: Cynical | May 13, 2009 at 06:13 AM
The Sheriff's salary hasn't been raised in 20 years??? Are you kidding me? Wow.
By comparison, the Town of Evans Police Chief salary has gone from $41.5 in 1990 to $92.4 in 2009. That's a 223% increase in the last 10 years for a police department of a dozen(?) or so officers policing a town of about 16k residents. Wow #2!
By Evans' standards, the Sheriff should be making...what...about 5 million?
How about we pay the Sheriff a fair salary correctly adjusted for inflation. A $79k salary adjusted for 3% inflation over 20 years would bring the Sheriff's salary to about 143k. Sound fair?
We could save even more money if we consolidated the Evans PD into the Sheriff's Dept. Would the Sheriff demand another raise to supervise another 25 coppers and staff?
Maybe not. Ask him. I bet he'd take the 143k deal.
It sounds like a win-win to me.
Posted by: BobbyCat | May 13, 2009 at 08:09 AM
There's more to a position than pay. Isn't the County Executive taking $1 a year?
Pay should be equitable, but the more important issue is the state of county government. You can't isolate any position and pay from the overlying issue of whether or not the county should even be in existence, how it is run (e.g. too many legislators) and other major problems. $79,000 per annum is enough for now. The sheriff should participate in recommending how the county can be made more accountable and viable to afford to pay more.
Posted by: Hank | May 13, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Help me to understand why the Democrats are looking for a candidate for Sheriff when Tim Howard is doing a fine job in that post.
Is it purely because he's a Republican?
Why, I believe that is the case.
And there's the rub!
One party must field a viable opponent because the person in the job is of the wrong party and thus cannot provide adequate patronage jobs?
I find this to be absurd.
I believe when it comes to positions that deal directly with the public's safety, party patronage and allegiances should not be in the forefront of a candidate's qualifications for the job!
Party politicking is what has gotten Buffalo and Western New York in the hole we are in.
Isn't it about time 'We the people' put a stop to it?
Think Regionalism. think Consolidation.
Oh, methinks OP Mike will not want to hear any part of that!
And therein lies another rub!
Posted by: City Taxpayer | May 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Some interesting comments here. Unfortunately none of these buckets hold much water.
I'm not sure why old BobbyCat says that "we could save even more money if we consolidated the Evans PD into the Sheriff's Dept." There would be no real savings. An additional 25 Sheriff Deputies requires more supervisors in Sheriff Howard's world. Plus the salary differential wipes out any hope of a savings.
BobbyCat must be working overtime dreaming up more suburban legends. BobbyCat should run the numbers and show the good people of Evans exactly how much savings is going to show up in their tax bill.
Why would anyone be nuts enough to give up their local police presence in favor of an occasional Deputy Sheriff tooling through town, keepin' the peace? And, in the name of "fairness", I'm sure the county legislature would want to bill the Town of Evans for services rendered.
Wow, what a deal!
Here is a much better idea. Councilmembers in Evans work for about one third the cost of a Buffalo councilmember. Reduce the pay for Buffalo Councilmembers to equal what Evans pays. That way Buffalo could have three times as many Councilmembers for the same cost, bringing much greater diversity, fairness and democracy to city residents.
As for the Sheriff's pay, give the guy a raise. If a Buffalo street cop can take home $175,000 a year, so should Howard.
Posted by: OPMike | May 13, 2009 at 03:02 PM
Ok, some context.
The Town of Evans no longer has a summer influx of thousands of students living in hundreds of cottages, nor does it have the 15 or 20 beach bars as in days of yore. Therefore Evans no longer needs it's own police dept. The Dept. should consolodate into the Sheriff's Dept; The Village of Angola should be consolodated into the Town; The School Dist should be consolodated into a County-wide system.
Evans taxes have increased more than any town in Erie County, about 18% in 5 years. It's time to consolodate. Or...we could do nothing.
No need to fret. You may finish your cereal, Mikey.
Posted by: BobbyCat | May 13, 2009 at 08:53 PM
BobbyCat,
Show us the money! I assume that you have crunched the numbers and can tell the good people of the Town of Evans and the Village of Angola exactly how much money they will save by doing what you recommend. So please share your numbers with the rest of us. This could serve as an example for other communities that face similar decisions.
Putting on a "regionalism" cap, I have to ask how much will the region save by doing this? Does the larger region actually save money, or is this like the City of Buffalo saving money by pushing costs on to the backs of the over burdened county taxpayers? In which case there is no real savings, your just rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
We are eagerly awaiting your numbers.
Posted by: OPMike | May 14, 2009 at 09:35 AM
This Sheriff is not worth 79 cents a year. Morale is non- existent. Inefficiency abounds. CONDITIONS ARE DEPLORABLE AND INHUMAN. BOTH JAILS ARE FILTHY. THEY RARELY ANSWER THE PHONE IN THE RECORD ROOM.CRIMINALS ESCAPE. And most Deputies agree that THE SHERIFF IS AN IDIOT!
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Posted by: Agent in Charge | July 02, 2009 at 09:16 PM
These cops retired with overinflated super pensions of $100,000, while ourservicemen and woman that have a family of four have to get food stamps because their pay is so low.
Tell me what president would be STUPID enough to cut our anti ballistic missile defense when both Iran an North Korea are testing ballistic missiles over and over and over again?
Answer, that MORON Brack Hussein Obama, who is selling us out right now to Vladimr Putin.
Bomb attacks kill six U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan
More American blood on Obama's hands. Why isn't the liberal media attacking him and asking his for a timeline on Afghanistna and exit strategy? You know why. A double standard liberal media bias.
An Afghan soldier keeps watch at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kandahar province on Monday.
Two roadside bombs killed six American troops in Afghanistan on Monday, as a suicide bomber attacked the gate of the main NATO base in the south, officials said.
The attacks come as thousands of U.S. Marines continued with their massive anti-Taliban offensive in the south, the biggest U.S. military operation since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.
TROOP DEATHS: A look at American casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan
Four U.S. soldiers died when their vehicles struck a roadside bomb in Kunduz province in the north, said Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a U.S. military spokesman. The dead were training Afghan forces, Naranjo said.
Obama doesn't seem to care, just like Bill Clinton didn't care or like our military.
How many military funerals did Obama go to? NONE!
Weathermen can't even predict whether it will rain tommorow and these scientists think they can predict that there's global warming and that it will bring a disaster 30 years from now. Great real. This 4th of July was the sixth coldest in the past 67 years. look it up, liberals. Temperatures are on the decline. Obama just wants more control and more taxes with cap and trade.
Defense Chief of Kennedy and LBJ during the Vietnam war dead at 93. What about all of his mistakes. He got chitcanned for making or men fight with both hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded.The Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964 never happened. It was just a lie to get us involved in Vietnam. Nice going Democrats.
58,000 Dead Americans. Instead of liberals spiting on their leaders geting us involved in a war with a lie, the liberals spit on our brave US soldiers returning home from that nightmare in Vietnam and called them baby kilers. Don't remember, liberals? I do!
The only baby killers I know are liberal abortion doctors.
Posted by: Global warming hoax | July 06, 2009 at 02:12 PM
And there you have it ... the radical right fringe on full display and showing the world why they were voted out of power....
Posted by: wil | July 07, 2009 at 02:00 AM
Obama's gone on another apology tour. This time in Russia.
1.84 TRILLION dollar deficit, remember that number liberals. That'll be one that people remember in 2010 and 2012. 7 GI's dead and 11 NATO dead in Afghanistan. How many military funerals has Obama gone too so far? NONE!
Liberal Democrats haven't won a war in 64 years.
Obama is weak and naive, cutting our anti ballistic missile defense when North Korea and Iran are both firing all kinds of missiles weekly. Moron!
What's the matter liberal? Can't handle the truth? After Obama screws up everything with his socialist policies we'll se who laughs last, you liberal socialist clown.
Posted by: Lead Belly | July 07, 2009 at 06:07 PM
Obama is naive, glib, inexperienced, has Rev. Wright and Saul Alinsky as his mentors and a liberal socialist European way that he thinks can run our country.
Obama is failing and has lied on many campaign issues. Obama will raise our taxes to new high levels.
Obama will kill our economy with Cap and Trade to fix non existant Global warming.
Obama will bankrupt this country will socialized medicine and American will die waiting for doctors appointments and lack of medicine and doctor availability. Rationed health care.
Obama's 787 BILLION dollar stimulus plan has FAILED> Now the liberal Democrats want another one. I didn't get one penny from the last one. Did you?
Obama's coveted 'approval rating' has gone down 'below 50%' in Ohio a much need swing state.
Obama is a great failure like moron Jimmy Carter, our worst president. The tide is turning against Obama and his liberal Congressmen.
White House among targets of sweeping cyber attack
The powerful attack that overwhelmed computers at U.S. and South Korean government agencies for days was even broader than initially realized, also targeting the White House, the Pentagon and the New York Stock Exchange. I told you this would happen. Attack from North Korea and possibly China too. Thanks Obama, I sure feel safe. NOT!
MORE US TAXPAYER MONEY WASTED BY OBAMA
Palau asks for more US aid after Gitmo deal
Palau is asking longtime benefactor the United States for a 35-year extension on direct aid funding - and hinting Washington should say yes because of its offer to take in 13 Guantanamo Bay detainees. Now they want about 200 million dollars from us. Thanks Obama, you moron.
Should have kept these losers at Gitmo or turned them over to China.
Also 79 Yemeni Muslim terrorists Obama is sending back to Yemen, but they want one million dollars for each terrorist. More wasted American taxpayer money Obama doesnt give a damn.
Posted by: Magilla Gorilla | July 08, 2009 at 10:40 PM
I had no idea that the sheriff made so little, but I would disagree with more than one person in this forum. during Howard's tenure, the Department of Justice has investigated the holding center for mistreatment of detainees. Bucky Phillips escaped from the Correctional Facility, another convict was inadvertantly freed from the holding center, a deputy was accused of sodomizing a suspect (he was found not guilty), another former deputy (let go in the budget runoff) was arrested in a bank robbery, another deputy was arrested for heroin possession, the department was criticized for it's handling, initially, of the Diver case.
There is a lot of hay to be made by an opponent.
On the other hand, the law enforcement budget of this county is a disgrace, and I suppose we get what we pay for. I doubt we could find any better than Howard, I just hope Howard can find better for us!
Posted by: Garnier | July 21, 2009 at 09:45 PM