NYC Council meetings, chaptered and linked by time.
Created by Uzair Qadir
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New York City Council
Annual disclosure of financial interests by certain officers and employees of the city
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Committee on Governmental Operations vote, asks everyone to silence devices, and confirms the chair is ready to begin.
Chair Gale Brewer introduces herself and welcomes Council Members Dinowitz, Wilson, and Morano. She outlines the two items for vote: a preconsidered bill increasing compensation for mayor, public advocate, council members, borough presidents, comptroller, and DAs, and Intro 398 making technical amendments to financial interest disclosure requirements.
Brewer explains that elected official pay is set by local law and a quadrennial commission reviews salaries every four years. She notes Mayor de Blasio declined to impanel the commission in 2020 and Mayor Adams declined in 2024, creating a 10-year gap—the longest since the framework began 40 years ago.
Brewer notes NYC elected official salaries have failed to keep pace with inflation and lag behind legislators in LA, Chicago, and Philadelphia, all of which have smaller budgets and workforces. She highlights that LA's council is even stronger than its mayor.
Brewer explains that elected official salaries serve as caps on staff salaries, making it hard to attract top talent. She argues low pay restricts who can afford to run for office, making it accessible only to wealthy individuals, and that elected officials deserve fair compensation for a demanding 24/7 job.
Brewer recounts that in January 2026 the mayor and speaker jointly formed the Quadrennial Advisory Commission, appointing Carl Weisfred, Dr. Lillian Barrios-Paoli, and Dr. Larry Angelo. The commission's June 23 report recommended an 18.2% salary increase for all covered elected officials, retroactive to January 1, 2026.
Brewer details the commission's further recommendations: convening future commissions in the third year of a four-year term, ensuring raises take effect at the start of the next term, and extending the commission's work period from 75 to 120 days. She states the preconsidered bill codifies these recommendations.
Brewer explains that COIB's February 2026 update raising the ownership interest definition to $64,000 created an inconsistency where the bottom of the third disclosure band exceeded the top of that band's range at $60,000. Intro 398 resets the band ranges to fix this incongruity without changing who must disclose.
Brewer thanks committee staff Jahari Frazier, Eric Cohen, and Singer Hamid, and her own staff Shula Puder and Cynthia Honig. She notes Council Members Stevens and Zhuang are on Zoom, Feliz has arrived, and turns the meeting over to the clerk for the roll call vote.
Committee Clerk William Martin calls the roll on both coupled items. Brewer votes aye, Dinowitz votes aye, Feliz votes aye, Stevens votes aye, Wilson votes aye, and Morano votes aye on 398 but no on the preconsidered compensation bill. Zhuang is present on Zoom but unable to vote due to technical difficulties.
Martin announces Intro 398 approved 6-0 with no abstentions, and the preconsidered compensation bill approved 5-1 with no abstentions. He notes Zhuang was logged on but could not vote due to technical issues. Chair Brewer closes the meeting.