Ulster County elected officials will receive significant pay raises this year after lawmakers approved pay hikes in line with the recommendations of a compensation review committee. But County Executive Jen Metzger said that she would donate her $7,200 windfall to a scholarship program for students at SUNY Ulster.

“I’m not in public service for the money," said Metzger in a statement issued Friday. "I do this work because I want Ulster County to become a sustainable, resilient, thriving community that leaves no one behind, and donating my raise to support a good community college education for our high school students contributes to this broader goal."

Metzger’s announcement comes one month after the county legislature approved pay raises for themselves and other county elected officials. The raises were passed on recommendations from the county’s periodic compensation review committee which, per the county charter, meets biennially to assess salaries in county government and recommend adjustments.

Under the new pay scale, Metzger’s annual salary jumped from $133,570 to $148,572. Fellow countywide elected Sheriff Juan Figueroa, Comptroller March Gallagher and County Clerk Nina Postupack all saw their pay rise from $101,720 to $116,709. The county’s part-time legislators pay increased from $14,000 to $16,000. Pay for the chair of the county legislature went from $23,000-$26,000 while the chamber’s majority and minority leaders went from $16,000 annually to $18,000. In her statement, Metzger said she supported the pay hikes noting that some elected officials had not received a raise in years, including Postupack whose pay has remained steady since 2009.

Metzger, who was elected last year to fill out the remainder of County Exec-turned U.S. Rep Pat Ryan’s term, said that she would donate her 2023 salary increase to the community college’s President’s Challenge Fund. Metzger said that she would donate the after-tax value up to $7,200 directly to the scholarship fund while any portion of her raise left over would go to the program’s general fund which provides additional educational opportunities for PCF participants. The scholarship program is aimed at college-bound at-risk high school seniors and provides full tuition at the two-year college, based in Stone Ridge. School officials say they hope to give out 50 PCF scholarships to graduating seniors this year.

“Her gift will remove obstacles to make the dream of college a reality for families here in Ulster County, including having a long-lasting impact for generations to come,” said SUNY Ulster President Alison Buckley. “We cannot allow a price tag to be the barrier to a college degree.”