🔴 LIVE: Hearing on Increasing Compensation of the Mayor, Council, and Other Elected Officials

The New York City Council held a hearing on July 8, 2026, to discuss legislation proposing an 18.2% increase in compensation for the mayor, public advocate, controller, borough president, city council members, and district attorneys. The hearing focused on the recommendations of a quadrennial commission tasked with reviewing elected officials' salaries, which had not been convened since 2016. Key topics included codifying regular salary reviews every four years, extending the commission's review period from 75 to 120 days, and instituting automatic inflation-based salary increases if a commission is not convened. Public testimony and expert input highlighted concerns about the automatic increase potentially disincentivizing future commissions and emphasized the importance of commissions for broader institutional reforms beyond salary adjustments. The hearing also touched on related issues such as wage compression between elected officials and staff, transparency in financial disclosures, and the impact of low salaries on the diversity and quality of candidates for office. No specific votes were recorded during the hearing, but the discussion centered on advancing the proposed bill and related policy reforms.