OBSERVER file photo Many municipal workers can be on call 24-7 for emergencies such as this major water main break in August in Dunkirk.

Dunkirk Common Council was a bit generous when it came to its employees — and themselves for that matter. During the Nov. 16 meeting, by a 3-1 vote, the legislative body agreed to use $300,000 in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act as a one-time payment to about city 150 workers as hazard pay for their service from March 2020 through this August.

When approved the amount for each worker was undecided upon, though the range of the boost is expected to be around $1,500 to $2,000 per worker. Financial officers in the city, however, were not comfortable with the proposal before the vote was taken.

“There’s no real equitable way of distributing it,” said Marsha Beach, city fiscal affairs officer. “There’s going to be problems with it. Our employees won’t be happy no matter what happens here.”

According to seethroughny.net, there are a total of 152 workers in the city earning $9 million for an average of $59,210. That salary amount will see a bit of a bump next year due to the federal stimulus funds being used as a Christmas bonus of sorts.

This is not to take away from the work the front-line employees did during the pandemic, which continues today as numbers here continue to spike. But there were other priorities that are quite obvious — a languishing downtown for one– where those $300,000 could have been used.

Dunkirk instead decided to pad the pockets of those who work at City Hall. What they did was within their rights, but there already are a lot of tax dollars — federal and state — invested in public positions.

In fact, the Chautauqua County municipal worker payroll totals $102,126,360 for 2021. These numbers include the 2,267 employees from the villages, towns, two cities and the county.

As large as that number is, it does not take into account benefit packages that are included with each position that can be an additional 30% to 40% per employee. Those expenses added to a salary bring a total compensation — a significant cost to each position.

Both cities, which have a combined payroll of $23,437,598, have the largest number of employees who receive compenation at $100,000 or more. In Jamestown, there are 90 and in Dunkirk 53.

Chautauqua County, with 1,234 employees, has a total of 113 who receive compensation at levels higher than $100,000.

There are fewer highly compensated posts in the towns, which have an overall payroll of $12,338,035, and villages, which pay $9,828,905 in salaries. Employee numbers costing more than $100,000 in compensation include:

¯ Fredonia — 20.

¯ Ellicott — 13.

¯ Village of Westfield — seven.

¯ Lakewood — five.

¯ Two in Hanover and Brocton.

¯ One in Chautauqua, Mayville, Pomfret, Portland and Silver Creek.

School districts bring the biggest bang when it comes to employee earnings. In 2021, for the 18 county districts, $187,811,528 was paid to staff. This figure does not include the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which is connected to each of these schools.

It is figures like these that keep growing and potential worries for generations to come. Consider a recent Empire Center for Public Policy “Checklist for Change” article noting the legacy costs that come with some of these positions.

“In New York, government employers typically pay a portion of the health insurance premiums of retirees and their dependents,” the report noted. “But unlike pensions, these benefits are not prefunded by employers.

“As a result, governments at all levels in New York are pledged to pay a combined $360 billion in future retiree health bills for which there is no money set aside. This could put unbearable strain on public budgets down the road.”

Those are the costs no one wants to talk about now. But someone will pay in the future — and no one’s quite sure when that day of reckoning will arrive.

John D’Agostino is the editor of the OBSERVER, The Post-Journal and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-366-3000, ext. 253.