The New York City Council is advancing legislation to increase the salaries of elected officials by 16% in the final weeks of the Council term. The bill, introduced by Council Member Natasha Williams and co-sponsored by 30 other members, was originally planned for a vote during the lame duck period, which would have been illegal. Members are still charging ahead, scheduling a public hearing for December 16 and planning a vote in an expedited process in early January 2026.

Critics argue the Council is ignoring the long-standing tradition of using an independent compensation commission, but Council Members say salaries have been frozen for ten years and they cannot wait.

So why is this happening now, what is supposed to happen instead, and how can Council Members get a raise without undermining public trust? This explainer walks through the rules, the history, and the options.

What is the Council proposing right now?

The City Council has introduced a bill that would increase salaries of elected officials in New York City by 16%. The pay raise would apply to the Mayor (current annual salary: $258,750), the Comptroller ($209,050), the Public Advocate ($184,800), Borough Presidents ($179,200), the Council Speaker ($164,500), City Council Members ($148,500), and District Attorneys ($212,800).

The salaries would go into effect retroactively on January 1, 2026, even if the bill passes later.

How are salaries normally set?

Every increase in elected officials salaries over the past fifty years has been enacted after an independent commission of experts reviewed compensation levels and offered recommendations. Under a 1986 law, every four years the mayor must create a Quadrennial Advisory Commission for the Review of Compensation Levels of Elected Officials. The law states that the pay commission must include three private citizens recognized for their experience in management and compensation. The commission holds public hearings, consults experts, and publishes detailed reports.

After its analysis and hearings, the commission recommends salary adjustments or can recommend that no increase is needed. The mayor may adopt these recommendations or propose different compensation levels. The City Council then considers the recommendations but has full discretion to set compensation differently. 

Any changes to salary levels are enacted through a local law amending the City Charter. The mayor can veto it, just like any law.

When are salaries normally set?

The U.S. and New York Constitutions generally require that salary increases for lawmakers take effect in the next term, after an election, so voters can hold officials accountable for approving their own pay.

New York City has taken a different approach. Historically, compensation commissions were established in the second year of the four-year term, with new salaries taking effect immediately or in the third year. After advocacy from Citizens Union and others to make increases prospective, the Council moved the commission process to the third year of the term to “make it more likely” that compensation commission recommendations would go into effect in the following term, after an election.

Why does New York City normally use compensation commissions?

Compensation commissions provide an independent, transparent, and data-driven process for setting salaries. They serve both the public and elected officials. 

Compensation commissions serve the public interest by preventing self-serving decisions. Without a commission, lawmakers could set their own pay with little accountability or analysis made to determine an appropriate pay increase. Compensation commissions also serve lawmakers’ interests by providing “cover” for unpopular decisions. Even justified salary raises can be politically unpopular. Independent commissions are designed to take the politics out of the decision and help officials achieve a pay increase through a credible and more independent process.

Compensation commissions have been used every time the City Council has approved a raise in the past half a century: 1979, 1987 (Koch), 1991 (Dinkins), 1995, 1999 (Giuliani), 2006 (Bloomberg), and 2015 (de Blasio).

New York State also uses a compensation commission for recommending salaries for legislators, judges, and executive officials. Twenty-one states use compensation commissions for legislative salaries.

Why haven’t salaries changed since 2016?

Although the law requires a compensation commission every four years, several mayors have ignored the mandate, including Mayor Bloomberg in 2003 and 2011, Mayor de Blasio in 2020, and Mayor Adams in 2024. Since no commission has been convened since 2015, salaries have remained unchanged for nearly a decade. Before that, salaries remained unchanged between 2006-2016 because commissions were not convened in those years. 

No attempts were made during this period to amend the law or sue the mayor to ensure that he complied with the legal mandate.

What happens when a mayor refuses to appoint a commission?

Nothing, under current law. There is no enforcement mechanism if the mayor refuses to implement this law, except for legal action through the courts.

So don’t they deserve a raise? What’s wrong with the Council’s current proposal? 

There are good arguments for raising salaries. Council Members and other officials have gone almost a decade without an adjustment, and the cost of living in New York City increased significantly. Higher compensation helps attract strong candidates and allows people who are not wealthy to consider public service. Citizens Union has historically supported better pay for elected officials. 

But abandoning over forty years of independent review practices to pass an eleventh-hour raise is the wrong approach – and it’s unnecessary. How high should the raise be? Should it apply equally to all offices? When should it take effect? Should reforms accompany the raise? These are the kinds of questions that would be answered through a transparent evaluation by an independent compensation commission.

Compensation commissions hold public hearings, consult experts, and publish detailed reports. They consider responsibilities and time commitments associated with the elected office, the amount of time that has passed since the last pay adjustment, cost-of-living changes, and how the salaries that are up for review compare to other public and private positions.

The Council’s proposal includes none of that. It offers no supporting analysis for the proposed 16% pay increase. Even if that figure is reasonable or possibly low, establishing a precedent where lawmakers set their own pay without analysis or public review invites future abuses, reeks of self-dealing, and undermines trust in government.

Is the Council allowed to do this?

The City Council has full discretion over setting salaries for elected officials, including for themselves, except during the period of time between general election day and December 31 in a year when members are elected. 

The Council attempted to pass a raise during this lame duck period but had to postpone after Citizens Union blew the whistle on the attempt at what would have been an illegal maneuver.  It is now attempting an end-run around that restriction by holding a public hearing on the bill during the forbidden lame duck period, while planning to pass the pay raise legislation under the expedited “preconsidered” process in January of the new term. This would possibly allow the legislation to be moved immediately to a vote without an additional hearing in the new year – which would require the Speaker’s approval. But it could also open the door to a potential legal challenge, as it would seem to contradict the intention of the lame duck restriction codified in the City Charter. 

What can elected officials do to get a raise if the mayor does not convene a commission?

The City Council has several other options that achieve the same goal – a long waited, likely justified salary bump – while maintaining the integrity of the process, and avoiding an eleventh-hour, politically embarrassing vote. These options have been at the Council’s disposal for the last several years.

• Authorize another elected official to appoint the Quadrennial Advisory Commission if the mayor fails to do so. The Council can amend Administrative Code 3-601(a) to allow the Comptroller or the Council Speaker to appoint the compensation commission if the mayor fails to do so by January 15 of the required year. Once the bill is approved, a commission could be created immediately.
• Create a one-time compensation commission for 2026. The Council can pass a law establishing an ad hoc commission to operate in 2026. In fact, the Council is already advancing legislation to do that, as the current pay raise bill instructs Mayor-elect Mamdani to convene a one-time compensation commission in 2026, after they give themselves a pay raise. The bill could be amended to mandate the creation of a Council-appointed compensation commission that begins without delay and abandons the effort to achieve an immediate and retroactive raise. This would not be unusual. The City Charter anticipates Council-created commissions, and similar one-time authorizations have been used before.
• Sue the mayor to compel him to establish the commission. The Council, or another official, can seek a court order requiring the mayor to comply with the law mandating the appointment of a compensation commission. The City Council has sued mayoral administrations for refusing to carry out local laws, most recently in 2024. It could have taken this step at any point in the last five years.
• Call on Mayor-elect Mamdani to appoint a commission in January. The new mayoralty presents an opportunity to ensure the law is being abided. The City Council could call on the incoming mayor to appoint a compensation commission in the beginning of 2026. As noted, the current bill already requires him to convene a one-time commission before December 31, 2026, though he could ignore it like his predecessors if none of the measures above are implemented. It is also unclear why a commission would be needed right after elected officials receive a raise, if the Council moves forward with its ill-advised effort to raise pay for itself without a commission. Instead, the Council could consider compelling Mayor-elect Mamdani to convene a one-time compensation commission by passing a bill simply requiring Mamdani to establish a pay commission by January 31, 2026.