Compromise would phase in raises for Albany County officials

A compromise floated by Albany County lawmakers would split the controversial proposed double-digit raises for the county executive, sheriff and comptroller into smaller chunks over four years.

The move — which would trim the cost of the increases by about $115,000 over that span — is aimed at defusing opposition to the lump-sum raises proposed last month by the legislature's Audit & Finance Committee.

The committee proposed $15,000 increases next year for all three posts — pay hikes that were not in County Executive Dan McCoy's budget released in advance of his September Democratic primary.

Democratic leadership argues the increases are necessary to keep the salaries competitive and on par with the responsibilities of the county's top jobs.

Higgins, who has clashed with Commisso in the past, said his chief concern was that the raises were added without consultation of rank-and-file lawmakers and that two top elected officials were getting large increases they did not ask for while most county employees are getting 2 percent.

[...] Latham Democrat Tim Nichols, who has criticized the way he says the raises were quietly added to the budget after Election Day, vowed to continue to fight them.