Schenectady City Council President Gary McCarthy would have to take a pay cut to become mayor, based on his 2010 salary showing him earning $105,148 as an employee of Schenectady County.
McCarthy is chief investigator for the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. County records show him earning $33,236 in overtime on top of his base pay of $63,908. He earned an additional $8,004 in longevity pay. The salary of the mayor is $96,900.
McCarthy is one of five investigators in the office. Investigators focus on preparing materials, information and witnesses for trials in Schenectady County Court.
McCarthy, a Democrat, will take over the mayor’s duties this month, but he will work only part time and will not be paid. He will take on the duties once Mayor Brian Stratton, also a Democrat, leaves office this month to become director of the Canal Corp., a state job offered to him by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. McCarthy has the authority to act in the mayor’s absence because he is council president.
Democrats want McCarthy to run for mayor, but he remains uncommitted. He said if he were to run for mayor and win, a salary cut is acceptable. “Sometimes in the public sector, we have to make sacrifices,” he said.
McCarthy’s $105,148 earned him the rank of ninth-highest-paid non-management employee for the Schenectady County government in 2010.
Denise Cashmere ranked No. 1 with a pay of $130,900. Her rank is attributable to the payout she received when she retired last year as STOP-DWI coordinator for the county. Her base pay in 2010 was $78,450. She received a longevity bonus of $8,988 and overtime of $7,096. She received $36,366 in accumulated vacation, sick and leave time through her retirement.
The 2010 top 10 earners’ list included five members of the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office:
Brian Rossi, patrol sergeant, who earned $118,819, earning the rank of second-highest-paid non-management employee for the Schenectady County government. His base pay is $66,509. He received $47,617 in overtime. He also received $4,693 in uniform and meal allowances, hazardous duty pay and a physical fitness incentive for jail employees. Sergeants also received a retroactive pay increase for 2009 in 2010.
Robert Kennedy, patrol officer, $111,931, is third-highest-paid. His base salary is $60,084. He received $48,854 in overtime and $2,993 in allowances and other incentives.
Gary James, corrections sergeant, $111,342, ranked fourth. His base salary is $62,907. He received $42,867 in overtime and $5,568 in allowances and other incentives.
Donn LaBrake, corrections sergeant, $109,634, ranked fifth. His base salary is $67,685. He received $39,366 in overtime and $2,583 in allowances and other incentives.
The rest of the top 10:
Lance Harvey, case worker with Child Protective Services, Department of Social Services, $109,196. Base salary: $59,804; overtime, $44,601; longevity, $4,791.
Linda DePaula, supervising nurse, Glendale Home, $108,911. Base salary, $78,304; overtime, $14,967; longevity, $11,120; allowances, $4,520.
Jason Temple, patrol lieutenant, sheriff’s department, $106,605. Base salary, $71,701; overtime, $30,310; allowances, $4,594.
McCarthy, at $105,148.
Susan Bisnett, supervising nurse, Glendale Home, $98,358. Base salary, $78,304; overtime, $10,523; longevity, $4,448; allowances, $5,083.
Joe McQueen, county spokesman, said overtime in the case of sheriff’s office employees is related to jail coverage. The county has to maintain minimum staffing requirements at the jail, reflecting the nature of supervising a jail containing 350 inmates over three shifts every day. When there are open slots, patrol officers and corrections officers can step in to fill the slots, often earning time-and-a-half and double-time.
Some officers, like Temple, earn overtime because of special duties. Temple is the K-9 officer for the sheriff’s office and is often called out on assignment on off-shift time, McQueen said.
McQueen said Sheriff Dominic Dagostino and County Manager Kathleen Rooney are making staff changes to minimize overtime. However, he said, overtime will always be a factor, as “it is not cost-effective to have more employees; it is sometimes more cost-effective to have overtime.”
In all, the county had 97 non-management employees who earned $75,000 or more in 2010.
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