Politics & Government

Board Denies Bid to Reduce Town Clerk Pay

On a party-line vote, the town board has denied a proposal to lower the town clerk's pay by more than $12,000 per-year starting in January.

The Harrison Town Clerk makes more than $97,000 per year—and after a party-line vote by the board last week, that won't be changing any time soon.

The proposed superintendent's budget for 2012 included an approximate $12,000 cut in pay for the town clerk starting when Jackie Greer (R) takes office on Jan. 1. But the Republican majority on the town board flexed its muscles in a vote after the Nov. 17 meeting, voting down the reduction 3-2 along party lines.

The , submitted by Harrison Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh on Oct. 31, had reduced the salary to $84,297. Instead, it will be $97,126 per-year, a 3 percent increase from 2011. 

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's only fair that it would be kept there," said Councilman Fred Sciliano (R), who along with Republicans Marlane Amelio and Joseph Cannella voted to keep the pay consistent. "That's been the standard practice over the years."

Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh said she proposed the reduction because the town hasn't been giving employees promoted into department head positions the same salaries as their predecessors. She added that the decision was made weeks before Election Day and had nothing to do with political affiliations. 

Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Democrat Pat Vetere also voted for the $84,297 salary.

"It seemed reasonable to me that two totally untried, untested people who have no background in the office should not get the same salary (as before)," said Walsh. "I was following on the precedent that the town board had already set."

But Republicans say elected positions are different than internal promotions and that a change at this point would be an unfair break from a salary that has been steady for decades. 

"It definitely wasn't politics, it's just keeping it fair with the other elected positions that are similar," Sciliano said. "No matter who (won), it's only fair to give it to them."

Greer defeated Democrat Frank Corvino on Election Day by 950 votes. She will be sworn into office on Jan. 1. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here