The Erie County Medical Center's top two administrators received nearly $128,000 in cash bonuses this summer, an action the county comptroller called "inappropriate" and "questionable." The bonuses - $99,750 to Michael Young, the hospital's president, and $28,167 to Sue McCarthy, its chief financial officer - were approved by the hospital's board of directors and awarded under terms of the executives' contracts.

Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz revealed the bonuses Wednesday in a letter to county lawmakers and suggested the payments were misguided in light of the serious financial problems facing the hospital and county.

"There's still a financial crisis in Erie County," Poloncarz said. "This certainly needs to be brought to the attention of the County Legislature and the public."

The bonuses, approved over the past three months, follow two years of county sales and property tax increases, as well as the lay off of more than 1,000 county employees.

In his letter to the Legislature, Poloncarz noted that, without the bonuses, Young's salary is $410,970 and McCarthy's is $265,000.

"In my opinion," the letter says, "such bonuses should only be paid when the hospital becomes a self-sufficient and profitable entity."

Young and McCarthy declined comment on the bonuses, but the medical center's board of directors issued a statement indicating the bonuses were awarded because the two executives surpassed several performance thresholds.

"This experienced management team has exceeded every clinical and financial goal set by the board of directors," said Dr. Kevin Cichocki, chairman of the board's compensation committee.

The board also contends that, even with the bonuses, Young and McCarthy are paid below the national average for their occupations. A recent study by Modern Healthcare, a national trade journal, estimated the average cash compensation for a chief executive officer at a hospital the size of the medical center exceeds $551,000 a year.

Cichocki said Young and McCarthy, in just 20 months, have guided a $28 million turnaround in the hospital's financial performance.

"This is the best return on investment this community has seen in a long time," he said of the bonuses.

The board's rationale for awarding the bonuses rests on the contention that the medical center is on the rebound.

The hospital ended last year with a $1.5 million surplus compared with a $15.7 million loss the previous year.

Those year-end figures, however, include annual subsidies from Erie County. Without those subsidies, the hospital would have lost $28 million in 2004 and $17.5 million in 2005.

As part of an effort to end those subsidies, the county sold the hospital and Erie County Home to the Erie County Medical Center Corp., a public benefit corporation formed to make the medical center more self-sufficient.

Despite that intent, county officials reached an agreement with the medical center earlier this year that ensures a total of $48 million in operating subsidies through 2009.

When county lawmakers learned of the bonuses Wednesday, one wondered aloud if the hospital's board of directors has heard the public outcry over high taxes and the rising cost of government.

"There's obviously a disconnect," said Legislature Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda. "I certainly understand why we have a public hospital, but sometimes these governing boards have a tin ear."

Legislature Majority Leader Maria Whyte, D-Buffalo, also criticized the board and said the bonuses coincide with the hospital's demand for employee givebacks.

"In austere times, it doesn't matter whether Michael Young is worth the money," Whyte said. "You just don't ask for bonuses at the same time you're asking for concessions from your work force."

e-mail: pfairbanks@buffnews.com