Onondaga County is taking action to recruit more lawyers for the district attorney’s office.
The legislature voted 16-to-1 to increase the salaries of the office’s lawyers. The measure raises the starting pay to about $86,000.
Republican Legislator Mark Olson said the legislature looked at nearby counties to make sure Onondaga County was competitive.
"We're having a hard time keeping new employees or getting new employees, so I think this was an important step,” he said.
The lone dissenting vote was from Democratic Legislator Mary Kuhn. Kuhn said while she believes salaries need to be adjusted across the board, the legislature should be considering other employees, too.
"This is a not a very good look to have this kind of a jump in salaries for management confidential," Kuhn said during Tuesday’s meeting.
District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said the office has vacant positions that it can eliminate, so the increased salaries should not affect taxpayers. He’s looking to hire about a dozen more lawyers, and he’s hoping applicants will see the appeal of these positions.
"There's no job in America where a public official can do more good for more people with more personal reward than becoming an assistant DA. I can guarantee you that," he said.
The increases are scheduled to take effect the first full pay period in June.
