De Blasio Approves $35,000 Pay Raise For City Council Officials
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City's elected officials are getting a raise -- but the money comes with new terms.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill Friday giving members of City Council a $35,000 pay hike, boosting their annual salaries to $148,500 from their original $112,000 a year paycheck, CBS2 reported.
The law also makes serving on the council a full-time job and end bonuses for members serving on committees.
"If you run for City Council you're making a decision to forgo the income that you previously might have been able to achieve," de Blasio said. "In the past, some council members made hundreds of thousands of dollars while working as a council member, they made hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside income. This ends that practice once and for all."
An independent Quadrennial Commission recommended a $26,000 raise last year, but City Council members advocated for an additional $10,000 raise.
"I think it's going to make our city government stronger and better for years and decades to come," de Blasio said.
Some had criticized the move because the council voted itself raises for their current terms, and the raises are retroactive.
"Look, its no secret that this is awkward that elected officials are the ones who are the ones who have to vote and sign salary of elected officials," Councilman Brad Lander said, as reported by CBS2's Marcia Kramer.
Government groups had sought the legislation for years, but Dick Dadey of Citizens Union said he still has some reservations.
"We come to this today with mixed feelings," Dadey told CBS2.
He's worried about the deal to ban extra stipends for chairing committees, which is apparently only temporary.
"That reform ends when this council leaves office," he explained.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers had mixed reactions to giving the council such a large pay hike.
"Huh? Why would they get that? They don't need that... For them being full-time they get all this money back? They don't deserve it, sorry," Angie Cherry, a Jamaica resident, told Kramer.
But others don't seem to mind.
"I think it's perfectly fair as long as they're doing it full-time," William O'Brien, of the Upper West Side, said.
De Blasio is entitled to a 15 percent or raise, or more than $33,000, bringing his salary up from $225,000 to $258,750 under the new bill. But the mayor said he will not take the raise for this term.