New York City Council members are advancing a proposal that would grant them an 18.2% pay raise, increasing their annual salaries from $148,500 to $175,500, retroactive to January. The bill, introduced by Council Member Nantasha Williams, also includes provisions for automatic annual salary increases of at least 2% in future years, intended to keep pace with inflation.
The proposal stems from recommendations made by a three-person Quadrennial Commission appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The commission's report suggested automatic pay hikes to address what it described as the "further erosion of salaries," noting that elected officials have not received a pay increase since 2016.
If the bill passes as currently written, it would also raise the salaries of other elected officials. The mayor's salary would increase from $258,750 to $305,800, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin's salary would rise from $164,500 to $194,000. The city comptroller would see a jump from $209,050 to $247,100. Additionally, the salaries for the city's five borough presidents would increase from $179,200 to $211,800, and district attorneys' salaries would go from $212,800 to $251,500.
Both Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin have stated they would decline the pay increases for themselves, though the bill does not currently include a mechanism for elected officials to opt out. A spokesperson for Speaker Menin indicated that while the speaker would not take the raise, she would discuss the commission's recommendations with her colleagues. Methods for declining the raise are reportedly under review. The proposed legislation mandates that if the council fails to vote on salary adjustments for four years, raises will still take effect, capped at either 2% annually or 8.25% overall, whichever is less. This automatic increase would occur without requiring further public debate or a City Council vote.
Government watchdog groups, including Citizen’s Union and Reinvent Albany, have expressed concerns about the automatic, inflation-tied raises. Grace Rau, executive director of Citizens Union, testified that eliminating the incentive to convene commissions could diminish an important mechanism for improving government oversight.
The proposed salary increases would not apply to the staff of elected officials. The City Council recently approved a record-breaking $126 billion city budget.