Some New Castle County Council members want to override a veto by the County Executive.
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer vetoed an ordinance reclassifying and raising the pay grades of some Council staff—such as the Council clerk and legislative aides— after Council passed it last month. Meyer argued Council needs to get the input of the County’s Chief Human Resources Officer in order to maintain pay equity across county government.
County Councilman Dave Carter says pay increases are needed to recruit and retain experienced Council staff. He argues Meyer's veto erodes the separation of powers in New Castle County government.
“I think it is really wrong for anyone from the executive branch to be interfering,” Carter said. “We need the capacity and the capability to check what they’re doing and not just be a rubber stamp. And to do that it takes highly qualified staff.”
Meyer says County government should treat all employees the same.
“The salary increase they passed was an over 10 percent increase for political appointees," he said. "We're not giving anything close to that to our police, paramedics on the front line. That’s not fair.”
Meyer also disagrees that his veto threatens the separation of power in County government.
“They vote on our pay plans,” he said. “There’s no legal question that we have the right to veto theirs. Anything involving the public trust or expenditure of your taxpayer dollar, I’m going to scrutinize it and make sure it’s spent responsibly.”
The day before Council voted to confirm the staff reclassifications, Meyer urged members to table the ordinance.
“For example,” Meyer wrote in a letter to Council, “there are eighteen individuals in the position of Secretary across County government. Upgrading the positions of the Secretary to County Council from Pay Grade 15 to Pay Grade 19 will likely cause other individuals currently in the Secretary position to request the same pay grade increase."
Meyer added that bumping Clerk of Council from Pay Grade 30 to 32 would put this position at the same level as the Assistant County Attorney.
“Given the differences in education level and experience required for these respective positions, I anticipate many additional requests for significant pay upgrades may be received if the Clerk of Council position is upgraded as proposed,” Meyer wrote.
But Carter references a 2017 memo from Assistant County Attorney Laura Hay to the two County Council Personnel Committee chairs. The memo concludes that Council employees are a distinct subset of County employees.
“These distinctions between rights conferred to employees of the Executive and Legislative branches are consistent and supported by the doctrine of separation of powers,” Hay wrote.
Sam Hoff, professor emeritus of history and political science at Delaware State University, comes down more on the side of the County Executive.
Hoff says he does not see a separation of powers issue, but a process question, with implication for public trust and transparency. He references the 27th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which made it harder for members of Congress to raise their own pay.
“You just have to be so extra sensitive on pay issues,” he said. “The legacy of that 27th amendment tells you what happens when folks lose sight of whose money it is. It’s the people’s money.”
Council put a veto override on its agenda for this week’s meeting.
