City Council blackmails Mamdani for an unearned – Latest News
Plan A for a stealth City Council “raise our own pay” gambit failed, because of the clear language of the City Charter — so it’s on to Plan B, which has the added “advantage” of sandbagging the new mayor in his first week in workplace.
Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) wished the council to vote itself a 16% wage increase this week, to take impact in January — and had 30 co-sponsors lined up, a strong majority on the 51-member council.
Too unhealthy town structure outright bans the council voting itself more income “between the general election day and the 31st day of December” in any yr the place its members are all up for election.
Her fallback: Have council committees clear the laws now, so the complete physique can rush it by way of come January, and so pressure then-Mayor Zohran Mamdani to both signal it or begin his time period at struggle with town’s legislature.
The plan is to spice up members’ pay from an already-absurd $148,500 to a princely $172,500; it will additionally hike pay for the mayor, metropolis comptroller, public advocate and 5 borough presidents a comparable 16%.
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Maybe Williams hopes that may entice Mamdani to go alongside?
Then again, his voters most likely didn’t elect him so he may make town more “affordable” for the politicians who run it.
Council members gripe that their pay hasn’t been raised since 2016, as Mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams each ignored the law that orders the mayor to call a Quadrennial Commission on Compensation Levels to think about pay hikes each 4 years.
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Yet that 2016 hike was obscene: up $36,000 (from $112,500), because the council upped what the commission had really useful by 10 grand.
Frankly, we doubt most council members may discover one other job that pays them as a lot as the present $148k, not to mention $36,000 above that; in any other case, they’d be in these jobs.
Potential excellent news: Even Plan B could fail.
The City Charter additionally prohibits the adoption of native legal guidelines “inconsistent with the provisions” of town’s governing legal guidelines, which sounds prefer it precludes council motion besides in response to Quadrennial Commission suggestions — which might imply no hike earlier than 2030.
Right after he takes the oath of workplace, the new mayor ought to cite his fealty to the letter and spirit of the Charter and vow to veto the pay hike: It’s the honorable response to Williams’ bid to blackmail him earlier than he may even transfer into Gracie Mansion.
