Allies Push Pay Hike for Niagara Health Director

Health Dept, Director Dan Stapleton is looking for $8,717 raise.

LOCKPORT—Allies of Niagara County Public Health Director Daniel J. Stapleton are aiming to boost the official's salary by 8 percent—making him one of the highest-paid county health directors in the state, now that Gov. Cuomo's New York State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Nirav Shah, an unelected state official, reappointed him to his post for the next six years.

County taxpayers pay Stapleton's salary and his raise was endorsed by the Niagara County Board of Health, an unelected panel headed by Lockport doctor Robert Bauer, MD. That panel has urged county lawmakers to give Stapleton a pay hike on top of the two percent raise he was given by the county earlier this year.

Stapleton, who is not a doctor, receives $108,967 annually as the Niagara County health department director—a post he has held for the past six years.

By comparison, his counterpart in Saratoga County, with virtually identical population numbers to Niagara County—makes $89,000.

Niagara County's population is 213,000. In Erie County, with nearly a million souls, its health dept. director is paid $159,000.

Bauer and the board have contacted county officials, including Chairman of the Legislature William Ross of Wheatfield, to get Stapleton his raise.

Bauer, in his letter to Ross, writes that Stapleton has (like most county employees) not had a raise in nearly three years. Stapleton's six figure salary makes him one of the 10 highest paid county employees.

If he gets the raise, his salary will be $117,684.

Despite lower levels of compensation, in several counties the public health director even does double duty as director of mental health.

This therefore raises a question about the compensation of a new mental health director, following the quiet departure of Mental Health Director Antoinette Lech, whose salary was identical to Stapleton's.

Will that be raised too?