Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher opened a new window into county government this week with the launch of a new online tool that allows citizens to view detailed payroll records of county departments and individual county employees. Previously, although public, some of the information would have to be obtained by a Freedom of Information Act process.

“We are excited to provide this new level of transparency. County employees are public employees and their salaries and pay data are public information,” said Gallagher. “Many employees receive more than the budgeted pay for their position each year because of additional benefits or responsibilities. This new tool will allow the public and elected officials to easily see where taxpayer dollars are going.”

The Ulster County Public Pay Dashboard allows users to sort information through a number of filters including by department and title. It also includes individual salaries ranked from highest to lowest and average pay by position. In addition to base pay, the database includes information on overtime and other types of special pay.

The dashboard shows that the largest proportion of both base pay and overtime goes to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office. Some 315 sheriff’s office employees account for nearly a quarter of the county’s $92.75 million payroll in 2022, a figure that includes $4.18 million in overtime.

The most highly paid county employee, according to the site, is County Psychiatrist Dr. James Standefer, whose base pay and "other pay" comes in at $275,220 a year. Number two is District Attorney Dave Clegg at $204,770 and third is Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith at $186,640.

In statement announcing the dashboard, Gallagher noted that some spending on law enforcement reflects state mandates, including one setting minimum staffing levels at the county jail. Following the sheriff’s office is the Department of Social Services with 309 employees and a 2022 payroll of $15.58 million. Other big-ticket departments include Public Works ($10.71 million), Probation ($4.59 million) and Public Health ($3.77 million). The county Board of Election commands the smallest payroll with $854,544 split among 16 employees.