WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From County Legislator Judith Myers. December 17, 2007: At the County Board of Legislators this afternoon, action on voting legislator stipend increases including that of the Chair of the Board of Legislators, has been postponed indefinitely, according to County Legislator Judith Myers of the seventh district, who issues this statement. Legislator Myers reports the raises, and amounts of stipends are going to be studied by a to-be-formed Legislative Compensation Committee who will issue a set of recommendations.

The outing of the legislators' plans to raise the stipends is credited to the Westchester League of Women Voters which discovered the plan to raise the Chair of the Board of Legislators' (White Plains own Bill Ryan)stipend from $40,000 to $75,000 in addition to his legislator salary, giving him a 39% raise in total compensation. Stipends of other Legislature Committee heads would increase from $12,000 to $15,000 under the plan. Ms. Myers reports they are going to study this plan via formation of a committee. Her statement:

I applaud the action taken by the County Legislature today to deny the legislative pay raise as proposed.

I did not support the pay raise proposal because I did not believe that the issue was afforded the same due diligence given to the 2008 County Budget as a whole.  Until this due diligence is complete, including the establishment of a Legislative Compensation Committee and the issuance of an advisory opinion, I cannot in good faith vote for a stipend increase.

I look forward to a timely recommendation for fair and equitable pay levels, from this committee.  I thank the League of Women Voters, the Westchester County Association and other concerned taxpayers in this County for their input and I look forward to working together with my colleagues to serve the needs of the people of my district and the County as a whole.