Published: November 20, 2008 09:30 pm      

WHEATFIELD: Tempers flare, but budget gets adopted

Department heads to get pay raise

Meetings here have been lively recently with much bickering back and forth over the merging of a position and pay raises for department heads. Thursday’s session to adopt the 2009 town budget was no different.

In the end, the town board unanimously adopted a $14 million spending plan that includes cost of living pay raises of an average of 2 percent for department heads, although a few are getting raises closer to 10 percent.

The town board made cuts in other budget departments to offset those raises, and used a $300,000 surplus to insulate residents against tax hikes in most of the town’s special district taxes, such as fire and garbage, Supervisor Tim Demler said.

Demler said the pay hikes came at the recommendation of the town’s salary review committee, which rates each department head’s salary based on the job duties.

But the raises didn’t sit well with some residents, who also criticized the board earlier this month at a public hearing on the budget.

“With the economy the way it is, I don’t think it’s appropriate to be giving these big raises,” said former town board member Jim Heuer. “You’re way out of line with your wage increases.”

“I don’t always agree with their numbers either,” Demler said of the salary review committee, “but I do believe that our department heads need to be looked at, and they were.” Of the raises, Demler said, “Some are $300 and some are $6,000.”

Residents also argued heatedly with Demler over his decision earlier in the fall to put up to public vote a proposal to merge the town’s tax receiver job, folding those duties into the role of the town clerk. Residents approved that decision overwhelmingly, but abolishing the job has continued to be a point of contention at meetings.

Former town tax receiver Patti Weiss accused Demler of “playing games” by paying town clerk Kathy Harrington to handle the receiver of taxes duties. Demler fired back by saying that Weiss lobbied for and received a 225 percent pay raise when she was town tax receiver in 1992.

Board member Larry Helwig said that by his calculations, Wheatfield is saving nearly $12,500 by abolishing the tax receiver job.

“Like I said before, we can argue until the end of time ... but I think we’ve written 14 good budgets,” Demler said of his terms as supervisor.

“I think we’ve delivered better services. We are the only town that has the type of services that we have,” Demler said, to which former town board candidate Sam Conti replied, “But we have more expenses.”

Demler countered with, “Yes, and they’re covered.”