Committee hears plan to tie management salary ranges to CPI, seeks timing clarification

Debbie Makowski, Chautauqua County director of human resources, told the Administrative Services Committee that Local Law Intro 10-26 would amend local law '7-1990' to apply an annual Consumer Price Index adjustment to the minimum and maximum of management salary ranges.

"So within that discussion, the audit and control committee thought maybe it would be time to at least for the minimum and the maximum of the salary ranges, apply an annual CPI increase to both minimum and maximum," Makowski said. She told the committee that the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U (as of Dec. 31 and released mid-January) would be used and applied effective Jan. 1.

Makowski emphasized the change would apply to the salary ranges, not directly to employee pay: "Full disclosure, this is not someone's salary. This is not to in this the CPI would not be applied to an employee's salary." Committee members asked for clarification on paragraph d, which requires submitting the updated schedule to the county executive and legislature "no later than October 1 preceding the effective date." One member noted that because the CPI number is known in January, the October publication is for public awareness; Makowski said the October publication mirrors how elected-official salaries are published.

The committee also asked whether employees below a raised minimum would be brought up; Makowski said yes: anyone who falls below the new minimum would be increased to that minimum. The transcript records discussion and clarification but does not show a formal vote on the proposed local law.

Next steps: the local law was introduced and discussed; transcript shows no recorded adoption or roll-call vote.