BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County clerk drove DoorDash for a couple years. The chair of the county legislature sells gift baskets. The county comptroller heads up a local college’s political science department. Side gigs and second incomes abound among Erie County’s elected officials, particularly among legislators, whose jobs are considered part-time — with salaries to match.
Now a commission charged with evaluating how much those elected officials are paid is considering big raises for legislators and four countywide offices: executive, comptroller, clerk and sheriff.
The commission is looking at pay hikes ranging from 23 percent to 52 percent for the countywide offices, according to an analysis by The Buffalo News. The commission has discussed boosting the salaries of legislators by nearly 80 percent — or hardly at all.
