Local politicians who were hoping to get a quick pay raise this year may be in for a rude awakening.
Newly minted City Council Speaker Julie Menin affirmed Wednesday she doesn’t intend to allow a bill to immediately advance that would bump salaries for local elected officials, saying she wants a commission to study the issue before any raises can happen.
The bill, whose introduction late last year was first reported by the Daily News, would give Council members, the mayor, the public advocate, the comptroller and other local elected leaders 16% raises. Queens Councilwoman Nantasha Williams, the bill’s sponsor, secured a hearing on it in December with the hope of being able to advance it to a vote early this month, arguing the move is long overdue as local elected officials haven’t gotten raises in a decade.
But in a press conference shortly after she was elected speaker Wednesday, Menin said it’s not appropriate to award raises before a commission can study the issue and then present recommendations for salary levels that the Council could vote on.
“That is the way that it has always been done, is through the commission, as opposed to members voting on a bill that raises it directly,” Menin said.
Asked if that means Williams’ measure is dead, Menin told The News: “We’re going to be looking at doing something through the commission, so that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
A commission is by law supposed to be convened every four years to assess whether raises for local politicians are warranted. But ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio didn’t convene one in 2020 due to the pandemic, and ex-Mayor Eric Adams, without explanation, didn’t convene one in 2024, either, prompting Williams and other bill supporters to press for going straight to a vote.
Williams didn’t immediately return a request for comment late Wednesday.
During last month’s hearing on the bill, Brooklyn Councilman Lincoln Restler suggested there was no need for a commission, given the lengthy period without raises.
Late Wednesday, though, Restler voiced support for Menin’s plan, saying it could “address this issue in a timely manner.”
“I think her approach is reasonable and would ensure independent experts fairly determine the salaries of elected officials,” he said.
The timeline for a commission study wasn’t immediately clear, but Menin said she had conveyed directly to Mayor Mamdani that she favors that approach.
A Mamdani spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Council members currently make about $148,000 annually, while the mayor makes about $258,000. The public advocate pulls in about $184,000 and the comptroller earns roughly $210,000. Borough presidents, who are also expected to be impacted by any raises enacted by the Council, make around $180,000 per year.
The hope from Williams had initially been to move to a vote on her bill in late 2025 while Adrienne Adams was still Council speaker. But the Council ditched those plans after it became clear such a vote would violate rules against enacting pay raises for local politicians in the so-called lame duck period in an election year.
