Reinvent Albany Calls for Commission and Hearing Before NYC Electeds Get Raises
Re: Mayor and Council doing the right thing by creating compensation commission;
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on the compensation of New York City elected officials, and on Intro 123. We are generally supportive of salary increases for elected and appointed government officials because they ensure that the important job of serving in government is appealing to a broad spectrum of qualified candidates. However, as we and our colleagues urged you on December 16, 2025, salary increases should only be done after recommendations are made from an outside compensation commission.
We appreciate that the Council announced it was moving away from raising salaries unilaterally, even prior to Mayor Mamdani announcing on January 23, 2026 that he would be convening the Quadrennial Commission this year. We are also encouraged that the Mayor said that the commission would be holding public hearings.
On the topic of today’s hearing, Intro 123 would require the Mayor to appoint a three-member commission. The commission’s duties and responsibilities are nearly identical to the Quadrennial Compensation Commission under § 3-601 of the Administrative Code. However, there are a few notable changes:
- The Mayor must appoint the commission within 15 days of the bill becoming law.
- The commission has 60 days, rather than 120, to submit a report.
- The report is sent directly to both the Mayor and Council – there is no 30-day period for the Mayor to review the report and send it to the Council with a recommendation for approval, disapproval, or modification.
Given that Intro 123 shortens the timeframe for consideration by 90 days, limiting public review, we believe that a public hearing should be mandatory – not optional. Should this bill be passed, it should be amended to require the commission to hold a public hearing before it makes its recommendations, or on preliminary recommendations before they are finalized.
Lastly, as we recommended in our written testimony from December 16, 2025, we also continue to support a quadrennial commission that is more independent, with:
- Two appointments from the Mayor;
- One from the Public Advocate;
- One from the Comptroller;
- One from the Speaker of the City Council; and
- The chair should be selected by the commission, not the Mayor.
Thank you for your consideration.