Erie County Council blasts Davis for paying unapproved salary to top county official

A top official in the administration of Erie County Executive Brenton Davis is being paid a salary that Erie County Council has not yet approved, according to financial records provided to council and shared with the Erie Times-News.

The discovery, which involves the salary of Director of Administration Joe Sinnott, has council members and their solicitor calling out Davis for violating the Erie County Home Rule Charter and disregarding council’s authority to establish appointee salaries.

“There’s no legal mechanism other than County Council to approve a salary,” Council Solicitor Tom Talarico said. “The fact that (Davis) has been paying it to (Sinnott) is illegal.”

Sinnott, the former Erie mayor who was initially hired by Davis as the county’s economic development director in March 2023, was tapped this past January to be director of administration, a position responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of county government.

Since February, Davis has requested that council approve an annual salary of $97,812 for Sinnott.

Council tabled the request at a Feb. 27 meeting.

Nonetheless, financial records show that Sinnott, who started his new position on April 1, has already received a paycheck reflecting the new salary for the first two weeks of April.

Democratic Councilman Rock Copeland, who raised the issue at a personnel committee meeting on April 18, said the unapproved pay was “unlawful” and that Sinnott should have maintained his salary as economic development director until his new salary was approved.

“(Davis) still put him in the new job and paid him (the new salary) without approval,” Copeland said.

Democratic Councilman Chris Drexel said the unapproved salary was an indication that Davis did not want to communicate with council and has “zero level of respect” for its authority.

“He doesn’t care what we have to say. He doesn’t respect us at all,” Drexel said.

Why did council table Sinnott’s salary?

Council’s decision to table Sinnott’s salary stems from an ongoing dispute between Davis and council over the budget; specifically, the use of American Rescue Plan funds.

In January, council approved $1.5 million in ARP funds to the Erie County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, and another $1 million in ARP funds to support the homeless population.

The funds, in both cases, were approved by 5-2 votes. But the money was never released.

The reason is that Davis declined to certify the availability of the requested funds, which is a requirement in the Home Rule Charter.

By not doing so, Davis argued the two funding approvals were invalid and that council shouldn’t have voted on them in the first place.

Council Democrats disagreed with the argument and responded by tabling Sinnott’s salary during a Feb. 27 meeting. The goal, according to Copeland, was to hold off on Sinnott’s new salary as a form of leverage, a way to bring Davis to the negotiating table.

“It was tabled because there’s been no willingness to listen to what our spending priorities are in regard to ARP dollars,” Copeland said. “It was intended to bring us to the table to talk about ‘what do you want?’”

Why did Davis not wait for council approval?

Erie County Public Information Officer Chris Carroll said council’s tactic was driven by “political purposes.”

In an email to the Erie Times-News on Wednesday, Carroll said it was “inappropriate to force Mr. Sinnott to work without pay” and potentially expose the county to legal action.

“Council has made it clear that their intention … is to game the system to gain ‘leverage’ over the county executive,” he said. "This is an inappropriate use of the (Home Rule) Charter provision.”

Carroll said council members already publicly voiced support for Sinnott and his new salary. He also said the salary for the position was already set by the 2024 budget, when the position was filled by former Director of Administration Doug Smith.

The budgeted salary was $98,537. Sinnott’s requested salary is $725 below that.

Copeland blasted the administration’s response.

“Different appointee, different pay ― still requires approval, which is why they asked for it in the first place,” he told the Erie Times-News. “If the salary didn’t require approval by council, they wouldn’t submit for it.”

What next?

When questioned by Copeland whether the administration acted unlawfully, Republican Councilman Charlie Bayle said “yes,” and that council must be the approving authority.

Bayle added, however, that council shouldn’t get caught up in a “back-and-forth” with the administration. Rather, he said, council should treat every measure individually on its own merits.

“What happens is that a lever gets pulled by the administration and this triggers us to pull another lever,” he said. “By pulling another lever and further obstructing what goes on in government, we’re not accomplishing anything.”

Bayle said the issue with the salary should be resolved by the attorneys.

Copeland pushed for more accountability.

Talarico recommended that council first pen a letter to the administration to express their concerns and inquire how to rectify the matter. He also urged council to better assert their authority.

“I think it’s about time that council decided to act like a council and respect the institution itself," he said. "Because for the last two and a half years, I’ve watched council’s authority and its integrity as an institution erode.”

Council Chairman Terry Scutella said council will move forward with the letter and added "if it doesn't work, then we have to take another path."

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Brenton Davis paying unapproved salary to top Erie County PA official