A recent attempt by the City Council to boost their salaries didn’t succeed due to strict wording in the city charter. So, they’ve shifted gears to a Plan B, which might not bode well for the new mayor during his initial days in office.
City Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) expressed her desire for a vote on a 16% salary increase set to kick in next January, with 30 co-sponsors backing her—a firm majority in the 51-member council.
However, the city’s constitution is fairly clear. During election years, councilors can only vote for pay increases “between the day of the general election and December 31st.”
As a workaround, she suggests pushing a parliamentary committee to pass the bill now, effectively giving the full council until January to expedite it through—a move that could put then-Mayor Zoran Mamdani in a tough spot, having to either approve it or risk conflict with the City Council.
The proposed increase aims to raise salaries from an already high $148,500 to $172,500. The mayor, city auditor, public defender, and the five borough presidents would see the same percentage rise.
Maybe Williams thinks this will help align Mamdani with their goals?
But, then again, I doubt many voters expected him to make the city more “affordable” with these kinds of decisions.
Council members are clearly frustrated that neither Mayor Bill de Blasio nor Mayor Eric Adams has received a pay increase since 2016. It seems both mayors overlooked a law that obligates convening a commission every four years to discuss compensation levels.
An increase back in 2016 was quite steep—$36,000, which bumped the salary from $112,500, as the council added an extra $10,000 to the commission’s recommendation.
Honestly, I’m skeptical about whether most council members could find another job offering comparable salaries to their current $148,000, let alone an additional increase. If they could, wouldn’t they be pursuing those opportunities?
There’s a chance that even this new plan might not pan out.
The city charter also bars the approval of local laws that don’t align with the established guidelines, meaning no salary increases would be allowed until 2030 and preventing the board from acting without following the quadrennial committee’s recommendations.
Once in office, the new mayor would do well to assert his commitment to both the letter and spirit of the Charter, vowing to veto any pay raise. It could be a dignified response to Williams’ overture, which feels a bit like blackmail before he even settles into Gracie Mansion.
