Mayor de Blasio is paving the way for hefty raises for himself and other elected officials.
Hizzoner on Friday announced the formation of three-member advisory commission that will determine whether all city elected officials merit getting pay hikes for the first time in more than eight years. The commission will report its recommendations in November.
When asked whether de Blasio – who earns $225,000 as mayor – believes raises are justified, his spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said he would “decline” accepting any pay hike “for the duration” of his current term. However, the mayor is leaving the door open to accepting a raise if he gets re-elected in 2017.
“This is an independent commission led by some of the best experts out there, and they will make their independent recommendations based on that expertise and knowledge. Period,” she said.
Joseph Puleo, president of Local 983 of District Council 37 — the city’s largest blue-collar municipal-workers union — ripped de Blasio for “pushing” a possible raise for himself when half of the union’s 3,000 members are working without a contract and haven’t gotten a raise since 2010.
“It would be nice if the mayor moved with the same diligence on our raises that he’s doing with his own,” Puleo said.
Dick Dadey, executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens Union, said he supports elected officials – which also include council members and borough presidents — getting raises because “eight years is a long time to go without one.”
“The real question isn’t whether they get raises, it’s the size of the raises and whether the commission will look at limiting [elected officials’] outside income and banning ‘lulus,’” Dadey said.
It would be nice if the mayor moved with the same diligence on our raises that he’s doing with his own
- Joseph Puleo, president of municipal-workers union
In addition to their $112,500 salaries, most council members also earn anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 in stipend money for heading committees and subcommittees. These stipends, called “lulus” have long been opposed by the Citizens Union and other good government groups because of the back-room politics involved in securing them.
Under the city code, a Quadrennial Advisory Commission is supposed to be appointed every four years. With the city already facing major budget cuts, former Mayor Bloomberg waited three extra years before appointing a panel in 2006.
It recommended a series of fat raises, including 25 percent for council members and bumping the mayor’s salary by 15.4 percent, from $195,000 to $225,000. Bloomberg, a billionaire, only accepted a $1 as mayor and wasn’t affected.
Prior to that, elected officials last got raises in 1999 during the Giuliani administration, which included 28 percent for the council and 18 percent for the mayor.
The new commission will be headed by Frederick A.O. “Fritz” Schwarz Jr., a great-grandson of the founder of the iconic toy store. He previously worked as corporation counsel during the Koch administration and is currently chief counsel for Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
The other members are Jill Bright, chief administrative officer for Conde Nast, and Paul Quintero, chief executive officer of the community development nonprofit ACCION EAST.
“Fritz, Jill, and Paul represent some of the best and the brightest when it comes to management and compensation,” said de Blasio in a statement.
If raises are recommended by the commission, the City Council would review them to determine whether they should be approved or modified before de Blasio could sign them into law.
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she’s “happy” de Blasio formed the commission, adding “We look forward to a robust conversation and reviewing the report when it is completed.”
Schwarz said, “The issues before the Commission are important ones facing New York City. I look forward to learning by listening.”