Contact: Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958
"According to Local Law 77, every four years the Mayor is required to appoint a Quadrennial Advisory Commission to review the salaries of elected officials. Earlier this year I appointed such a commission, headed by Richard Gelb, Chairman Emeritus of Bristol-Myers Squibb, to undertake this task. The report issued by the Commission today recommends that the compensation levels of New York City's elected officials be increased to levels commensurate with their responsibilities and comparable to positions in other cities. The report states, 'Despite the enormous task of governing America's largest and most complex city, elected officials of the City of New York are not compensated accordingly.'
"New York City's elected officials' salaries were last increased in 1995 for the first time in eight years and, despite this increase, their salaries still fall below the salary levels of elected officials in other major U.S. cities. In accordance with the local law, I will submit this report with recommendations for approval, disapproval or modification to the City Council within 30 days. I want to thank Chairman Gelb and his Commission members Stanley Brezenoff and Robert Kaufman, and the entire Commission staff for their efforts in developing this report."