Maragos to Nassau elected officials: cap appointees' pay hikes at 8 percent

Nassau Comptroller George Maragos Friday urged all fellow elected county officials to cap pay raises to their appointees at a maximum 8 percent, as the county attorney warned that retroactive pay hikes for nonunion employees are unconstitutional.

The moves came after Nassau lawmakers this week approved 31 percent salary increases for the Republican and Democratic elections commissioners, retroactive to July 1.

In a memo to all elected officials, Maragos noted that members of the county's largest union, the Civil Service Employees Association, will have received raises averaging 8 percent by March 31, 2015. The county's financial control board this year lifted a three-year wage freeze on county employees.

Maragos acknowledged that he has no authority over the actions of other independent elected officials. "However, it would be poor public policy not to be mindful of the county's challenging financial condition or that many of our taxpayers and seniors have not received salary increases or have had minimal pension adjustments," he wrote.

He added that "according to the county attorney, retroactive raises may not be permissible."

Nassau lawmakers this week unanimously approved legislation increasing elections commissioners' salaries from $128,000 to $168,000, effective July 1. County Executive Edward Mangano returned the bill to the legislature unsigned. The raise will take effect in 10 days without his signature.

Spokesman Brian Nevin said Mangano has no "legal jurisdiction" over election board salaries and "cannot veto it under the law."

Nevin acknowledged that Maragos "was correct" in saying that County Attorney Carnell Foskey has warned that retroactive raises may not be legal. He referred questions to Deputy County Executive Ed Ward.

Ward said Foskey had responded to "some elected officials" who had requested a legal opinion on retroactive raises, "but it is still a matter under discussion." He said there was "no formally issued written opinion at this point."

However, Newsday obtained a copy of a "privileged and confidential memo" from outside counsel to Foskey, which he distributed to some officials. The memo notes that the state comptroller has found that retroactive pay increases to nonunion public officials violate the New York State Constitution's ban against gifts of public money.

The outside counsel concluded that "retroactive wage increases to elected officials, public officers, department heads and commissioners are not permissible." He added that nonunion middle-level management could get retroactive raises if there were prior agreements to award those pay hikes.

Some county officials suggested Maragos' memo was a reaction to a request from outgoing District Attorney Kathleen Rice, recently elected to Congress, for large retroactive raises for attorneys in her office.

Rice spokesman Shams Tarek said the "anonymous allegation is false. We will not have any retroactive raises. Any retroactive pay increases will be for employees who were promoted to more senior jobs and have been working in those new jobs without the corresponding pay increase."

Maragos spokesman Jostyn Hernandez said, "In anticipation of salary increases for non-contract employees, the comptroller wanted to remind elected officials of the challenging financial conditions of the county."

The comptroller had granted raises averaging more than 17 percent to some of his appointees earlier this year. Hernandez said the hikes went to a "select few" workers who received promotions before the county's financial control board defined its wage freeze as applying to all county employees.

A spokesman for Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) said she is taking Maragos' memo "under advisement."

Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said, "During the county's continued fiscal crisis we too believe that all spending, including that of salary increases, should be approached in a fiscally conservative manner and always stay within the budget at hand as we do here at the legisltive minority."