Bob Antonacci

County Comptroller Robert Antonacci released a report Wednesday that determined raises for legislators and the county executive to be illegal

(Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com)

Were the raises given to county officials last month illegal? Was the comptroller's move to block those raises illegal?

It may soon be up to a judge to decide.

During a press conference Wednesday, Onondaga County Comptroller Robert Antonacci called the recently approved raises for county officials illegal and stood behind his attempt to undo them. He said his office may sue County Executive Joanie Mahoney's office over the matter.

"We're not inclined to go to court, that's not what we want to do," Antonacci said. "We may be forced to do that now. We may need to get a supreme court justice involved."

Antonacci released a report Wednesday that determines the raises for county legislators and the county executive to be in violation of county and state law. That report, he said, was his basis for attempting to withhold the raises Tuesday.

Antonacci sent the report to the county law department as well as the legislature and the county executive last week. In a written response to the report, the county law department told Antonacci that it was not his place to withhold raises and that doing so could result in personal liability for him and his staff.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney (left) announces her appointment of William Fisher, of Camillus, as the deputy county executive during a news conference in 2009.

The law department said it determined the raises were legal and that the comptroller's office was out of line.

"It is not within the duties of the comptroller or other employees of the department of audit and control to provide legal advice or to otherwise practice law," the letter says.

Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher echoed the statements of the law department Wednesday morning. Regarding Antonacci's attempt to block the raises, Fisher said Section 13.04 of the county administrative code puts the department of personnel in charge of salary:

Antonacci said part of his job is to certify all lawful claims of taxpayer money. By finding the raises unlawful, then, it is within his power to withhold them. He cited County Law 200.3, among others, which says salary for legislators cannot "exceed the salary as specified in the notice of the public hearing on the tentative budget" for that year.

The lawsuit would be the first time in eight years of working together that Antonacci's office sued Mahoney's.

If the matter goes to court, Antonacci -- who is a lawyer -- said he would handle the case himself, ensuring no taxpayer money was spent on legal fees.

Contact Chris Baker at cbaker@syracuse.com or follow him on Twitter