New York City Council Committee Hearing on Elected Official Compensation (July 7, 2026)
New York City Council Committee Hearing on Elected Official Compensation (July 7, 2026)
The Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation, chaired by Councilmember Gale A. Brewer, held a hearing on July 7, 2026, to consider Introduction T2026-2196 (Intro 2196), a preconsidered local law that would increase compensation for the mayor, public advocate, city council members, borough presidents, comptroller, and district attorneys. The hearing featured testimony from the chair of the Quadrennial Advisory Commission, good government groups, and members of the public. The bill was laid over by the committee after the hearing.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Carl Weisbrod (Chair, Quadrennial Advisory Commission): Stated strong support for the commission's recommendations, emphasizing the 18.2% across‑the‑board increase tied to cost‑of‑living since January 2022, prospective application for future terms, and the need for 120 days instead of 75 for future commissions. He explained the automatic 2% yearly increase backstop as a modest incentive to ensure mayors convene commissions.
- Grace Rao (Executive Director, Citizens Union): Expressed support for the 18.2% salary increase, restoring the commission cycle to the third year of the term, and extending the commission’s time frame to 120 days. However, she opposed the automatic inflation‑adjusted salary backstop, arguing it would eliminate the incentive to convene a commission and that salary reviews require qualitative considerations beyond inflation.
- Rachel Faust (Senior Policy Advisor, ReInvent Albany): Supported the 18.2% increase and process reforms but opposed the automatic 2% or inflation adjustment backstop, stating it creates a path of least resistance for mayors to avoid convening a commission and removes public input. She recommended alternative backstops, such as allowing the comptroller to appoint the commission, and urged additional ethics and transparency reforms.
- Christopher Leon Johnson (Member of the Public): Voiced full support for the pay increase, calling the 10‑year freeze “unconscionable.” He urged eliminating the ban on outside income and proposed that council members earn at least $200,000 annually, be classified as part‑time, and that offices be open 40 hours per week. He opposed future commissions and automatic inflation adjustments.
Discussion Items
- Overview of Intro 2196: Chair Brewer introduced the bill, noting that elected officials have not received a raise since 2016, a 10‑year gap—the longest since the commission framework was established. Salaries have not kept pace with inflation or with other major cities (e.g., Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia) that have smaller budgets and workforces. The bill codifies the commission’s recommendations: an 18.2% increase retroactive to January 2026, moving the next commission to 2028, allowing 120 days for review, and providing an automatic 2% annual increase (or inflation, whichever is lower) if no commission is convened.
- Commissioner Weisbrod’s Testimony and Q&A: He explained the 18.2% figure reflects cost‑of‑living since January 2022 (when most current officials began their terms), rather than the full inflation since 2016. The commission recommended the increase be effective for the next term, not the current one, to avoid self‑dealing. He noted that without resources from CUNY’s Institute for State and Local Governance, the commission could not have met the 75‑day deadline. Regarding wage compression, the commission did not find it a major issue because many staff earn more than their elected officials. On the backstop, he defended the commission model over automatic adjustments, citing the need for contextual judgment during crises.
- Councilmember Zweig’s Question: Asked about the relationship between higher salaries and corruption. Witnesses Rao and Faust responded that banning outside income (already done for council) and increasing transparency (e.g., financial disclosure) are more relevant to reducing corruption than salary levels alone.
- Staff Salaries: Chair Brewer raised the issue of low staff pay. Weisbrod stated the commission’s mandate did not cover staff, but wage compression was considered and found not a concern because many staff earn more than elected officials. Rao and Faust expressed support for staff salary increases but noted it was outside the bill’s scope.
Key Outcomes
- Hearing Held, Bill Laid Over: The committee heard testimony and discussion on Intro 2196 but took no final vote. According to the official minutes, the introduction was “Laid Over by Committee,” meaning it remains under consideration for future action.
- Next Steps: The council will continue to deliberate on the bill, potentially incorporating the concerns raised by testifiers regarding the automatic backstop, alternative appointment mechanisms, and additional ethics reforms. The automatic increase provision faces opposition from Citizens Union and ReInvent Albany, who advocate for a mandatory commission (perhaps appointed by multiple officials) rather than an inflation‑driven fallback.
Meeting Transcript
Hello, hello, good morning. Welcome to today's New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Governmental Operations, State and Federal Legislation. At this time, please silence all phones and electronic devices. If you wish to speak in today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with one of the sergeants. Moving forward, no one is to approach the day's. Chair, you may begin. Thank you very much. So I am Gail Brewer, Chair of the Committee on Government Operations, State and Federal Legislation. Thank you, everyone for joining, particularly interns and children. Those are the best. I would like to welcome elected officials, member of the public, and any city council colleagues who have joined us today, particularly Councilmember Zweig and Councilmember Wilson. We will be hearing Deputy Speaker Williams's bill, which we are hearing as a preconsidered introduction. It would increase the compensation of the mayor, public advocate, members of the city council, Bo presidents, controller, and district attorneys, although the DAs have a different system. Elected official pay is set up by local law, but under our city's administrative code, the mayor is required to appoint a commission to review the compensation levels of elected officials every four years and make recommendations to the council. The design and function of this quadriennual commission is meant to create regularity in the review of elected official salaries. However, with the exception of the DAs, as I said earlier, the last time city elected officials received a raise was back in 2016. Mayor de Blasio failed to impanel the required commission in 2020, maybe because of the pandemic, who knows. And Mayor Adams subsequently declined to convene one in 2024, although Mayor Bloomberg didn't do much either. This 10-year gap is the longest that city officials have gone without a raise in the 40 years since the commission's framework has been in place. Over that time, salaries of New York elected officials have failed to keep pace with inflation and with the salaries of elected officials across the country. Legislators and other places like Los Angeles, although Los Angeles, I was on the border of the National League of Cities, so I got to hear a lot from other cities. LA has a completely different system. They do get paid more, but they are stronger. So weak mayor, and there are only nine members in LA. But Chicago has the same number, 51 members and much smaller. They get paid more. And Philadelphia definitely gets paid more and definitely smaller. All those cities have much smaller budgets and smaller workforces. These stagnant wages not only affect elected officials. For non-executive roles, an elected official salary serves as a cap on the salaries of those employees for work who work for them in some cases, keeping those salaries artificially low. This keeps the city from offering competitive wages, which can prevent us from being able to attract the best and brightest to crucial city jobs. I will say that staff, however, in the mayor's office and the speaker's office and maybe elsewhere is higher often than the elected officials. Low salaries for elected officials can also negatively influence who is even able to run for office. Being an elected official in New York City is a challenging and demanding 24-7 job. No shit. Excuse my French. And elected officials should be able to support themselves and their families on their government salary without having to rely on family or other outside income. If salaries are too low, only wealthy individuals will be able to run. They recommended actually convening the commission every four years and altering the timing of future commissions so that they will occur during the third year of a four-year term of office rather than the first year, along with requiring that any compensation increases not take effect until the beginning of the next term. The commission also recommended giving future commissions 120 days instead of the current 75 days to complete their work. Additionally, the commission recommended that if salaries for the covered elected offices remain unchanged during the four-year term, they should automatically increase by 2% per year, or the actual inflation rate, whichever is lower. This will ensure regular pay raises for elected officials. This pro preconsidered introl that we are hearing today would codify these recommendations. We thank the members of the commission for their service, in particular, Carl Weisbrad, Larry and Angel, and Dr. Lillian Barrows Paoli, all friends of mine for about 40 years. All OGs. That's why I like them. Before I conclude, I'd like to thank the following council staff for their work from the government operations to Harry Frazier, Eric Cohen, and Singhi Hamid, and for my staff, Schuler, Pooder, and Cynthia Horney. Everyone in the background, I also appreciate so much. And I don't know if we have Councilmember Williams is not here, but Councilmember Denowitz is here also.
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