Watchdog Groups Favor Boost in Pay for State Officials

By MICHAEL ODMARK

Leaders of two influential good government groups on Thursday argued for sharp salary increases to combat corruption among state elected officials.

“It’s a perfect system for corruption,” said Dick Dadey of the Citizens Union of the City of New York, speaking at the New York Bar Assn. of the current compensation structure. Officials were being paid very little by the state; accept unregulated amounts of outside income; and often use campaign funds for personal gain, said Dadey.

Thirty-three state officials have been convicted of corruption in the last 17 years, Dadey said. A recent scandal was referred to as the state’s “Watergate Moment,” when two former legislative leaders—former Assembly leader Sheldon Silver, and Dean Skelos, former State Senate Majority Leader—were almost simultaneously convicted of using combinations of outside income, discretionary funding, and campaign donations to centralize their power and money.

Dadey proposed a large increase in base salaries to match the rising cost of living, explaining that the $79,500 base salary has been locked since 1999 while the cost of living has risen 40 percent. He said he hoped to convince the board to recommend an increase in base salaries to $150,000.

Susan Lerner of Common Cause echoed many of Dadey’s positions, with some marked differences related to the regulation of outside income. Lerner argued for an outright ban of outside income while Dadey called for a cap at 15-25 percent. Both speakers agreed that this area was ripe for corruption.

Lerner described stipends—also called “lulus”—as highly “problematic” and in need of elimination. Lulus, which are traditionally meant to pad legislator’s salaries for a variety of reasons, are, according to Lerner, often used to reward favored colleagues. Salaries for public officials should be fixed and largely the same for everyone, Lerner said.

Thursday marked the first of many public hearings before the New York State Commission on legislative, judicial, and executive compensation, which will, for the first time since 1999, evaluate the regulations and standards regarding compensation for state officials.

The next meeting was scheduled in Albany on March 23rd.