A comptroller, that is sorely needed in the city of Dunkirk, has riled up some so-called penny pinchers. This week, council approved the appointment of Tracy Smith-Dengler for the position.

It did not come without drama. In voting against the hiring, Third Ward Councilman Gary Frederickson was concerned about the salary for the position. “It seemed that nobody in this building was able to give me what I thought should be a relatively simple answer to a question: How much are we going to pay this comptroller per year?” he asked.

A search of salary sites online would give you an idea that the figure will likely be a bit higher than $100,000 per year. You could additionally make the case — knowing the debacle Dunkirk’s finances are — that this will ultimately be the most important position in a struggling city government.

“We’re doing this for financial stability,” said Second Ward Councilman Frank Torain. “The state is evaluating how we proceed in instituting systems that assist the city to stay in compliance with the Fiscal Recovery Act. So it’s necessary to put those layers in to make sure that we are in compliance, and stay in compliance.”

Those concerned about the $100,000 salary are frauds. Already, the city compensates at least 60 employees — through payroll and benefits — more than $100,000 annually. There’s no public outcry over that.

From many accounts, the city is lucky to have Smith-Dengler, who currently works for the Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES. One difference she will quickly note is that municipalities are not as buoyant as the state’s educational system. There, the money flows like the Niagara River rapids. In municipalities, especially cities in upstate, it is more like a trickle.

By the way, for the naysayers who keep asking how the position will be paid for — including former council members who never questioned expenses in the past — the city has a $30 million budget and is greatly overstaffed. Maybe this position will take a microscope to the overspending and be able to pare it down. We can at least hope for that.

Expecting the council to look at cutting expenses — this year and in the past — is just plain unrealistic. Government across Chautauqua County rarely wants to downsize.

Dunkirk had a legitimate reason to do so two years ago when it faced a $16 million deficit. Instead, it easily chose to increase property taxes 84%.

It was just one more case of elected officials favoring the system — and not those who voted for them.