Blakeman wants nearly $24,000 more than Curran was paid; a 12.18 percent increase

                                                                            

Bruce Blakeman

It wasn't hidden in Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's proposed 2023 budget, but it wasn't publicized either.

Blakeman has proposed a $220,294 annual salary for the county executive next year -- nearly $24,000 more than Democratic County Executive Laura Curran was getting paid when she left office in December.

Curran for four years refused automatic pay raises stipulated in a pay bill approved by the county legislature more than a decade ago.

So in effect, Blakeman is taking 12.18 percent in cumulative retroactive pay hikes that the county executive was entitled to receive --  but didn't get.

This is how it happened.

Then-Democratic Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs in 2006 appointed a "blue-ribbon" panel to study county pay scales for elected officials and recommend adjustments.

At the time, county officials considered themselves way underpaid, especially county legislators,  whose salaries had been set at $39,500 since the legislature began in 1996.

The panel recommended big pay boosts for county elected officials, including automatic yearly increases.

The legislature in 2007 approved the panel's recommendations, except, ironically for themselves.

They didn't increase legislative salaries to $75,000 annually until 2018, while also approving automatic pay hikes for themselves.

In general, the bills call for elected officials' salaries to increase annually by 4 percent or by the consumer price index, whichever is lower.

The original bill increased then-Democratic County Executive Tom Suozzi's $109,394 salary to $174,614 in 2008.

Suozzi did not take the automatic raise in 2009, but his previous 60 percent pay hike was used against him in his bid for a third term by his Republican challenger Ed Mangano, who defeated Suozzi. 

Mangano also refused the automatic pay increases until 2016 -- a few days after he was indicted for taking bribes and kickbacks from Oyster Bay restaurateur Harendra Singh.

Then Mangano took nearly all of the 10.3 percent increase in retroactive cumulative pay he was entitled to -- about $17,000. That hiked his salary to  just under $192,000. (Mangano currently is serving time in federal prison. He is appealing his conviction.)

Curran took one pay increase and then refused the others, holding her pay at $196,375 from 2019 through 2021.  She also did not increase the county executive pay in her approved  2022 budget.

Oddly, Curran did not take much credit for refusing the pay hikes.

But Curran lost her re-election bid last year and Blakeman inherited the $196,373 salary.

Now he is proposing an annual salary of $220,294 in 2023, which appears to include the automatic  pay hikes.

It's actually no surprise.  He is following his own recommendation.

Blakeman was a member of the blue-ribbon panel that proposed the increased salaries and automatic pay hikes.

Hmmm. Elected officials are entitled to a 4 percent annual pay increase if inflation rises to 4 percent or more..

But the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county's financial control board, is insisting that pay increases for union employees be limited to 2 and 3 percent in any new labor agreements.

Nassau's Correction Officers Benevolent Association recently voted down a contract proposed by Blakeman and COBA president Brian Sullivan that included 2 to 3 percent pay increases -- at a time when inflation is running over 8 percent.

Meanwhile, Blakeman's proposed 2023 budget -- along with his pay increase -- must be approved by the county legislature. 

But legislators are unlikely to balk at Blakeman's pay hike.

After all, their own pay is expected to increase by 4 percent next year. And unlike Curran, they accepted their automatic salary increases over the past five years.

Here is the proposed salary schedule for the county executive's office: