Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Attorney Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Putnam legislators convert DA—s proposed stipend into $8,000 salary increase for on-call chief assistant
Summary
After debate about precedent and charter limits, the Personnel Committee agreed to raise a senior assistant in the District Attorney—s office by $8,000 in base pay for 2025 to compensate extensive on-call duties; members said the increase aims to retain experienced staff amid rising caseloads.
The Putnam County Personnel Committee on Oct. 15 approved an $8,000 base-pay increase for a senior assistant in the District Attorney—s office who is regularly on call for child-abuse, domestic-violence and homicide cases.
District Attorney representatives told the committee that the senior assistant handles high-demand duties — answering nighttime calls, assisting younger assistant district attorneys, and handling subpoenas, search warrants and other urgent tasks. The DA—s office had asked for a $10,000 increase but, after questions about charter limits on base pay and concerns about creating a stipend precedent, members settled on an $8,000 increase to salary rather than a separate stipend.
Committee members debated whether a stipend or an increase in base salary was the better approach. "I—m not comfortable with a stipend," one legislator said, warning that stipends can create a domino effect across departments. The DA—s representative said previous stipends had been used to retain the position in the past (noting $20,000 annual stipends in 2009 and 2010), and argued the current request reflected the additional discovery, trial-prep and administrative work staff now undertake due to discovery reform.
Chairman Yaki moved to convert the requested amount into base pay and to increase the amount to $8,000; the motion passed by voice vote. Committee members noted the increase is funded in part by grant money the DA—s office identified. The committee recorded that the full $10,000 originally requested was not granted and that the $8,000 figure represents a compromise to address retention and workload concerns.
The committee left open the possibility of broader, countywide compensation changes as part of a planned outside compensation review; several legislators urged administration and personnel staff to complete that study quickly so other departments facing recruitment problems could be assessed.
The Personnel Committee adjourned the DA discussion after confirming the $8,000 salary adjustment would be included in the tentative 2025 budget.
