New York, NY – After crying poverty for months, Mayor Bloomberg authorized fat raises for 6,692 of his managers and nonunion employees, worth $69 million over two years.
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The raises, which will cover virtually all his City Hall staffers, but not himself, will match those given to District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union.
There will be a 4% raise retroactive to March 3 of last year, and a compounded 4% raise – or 4.16% – retroactive to March 3 of this year.
Those getting the raises will get lump-sum retroactive checks covering 16 months.
The seven deputy mayors will get raises ranging from $16,978 to $18,541, with the salary of First Deputy Commissioner Patricia Harris rising to $245,760.
Top commissioners will get a $23,247 raise, bringing their salaries to $189,700.
The raises only affect workers in mayoral agencies, not the Department of Education.
They also do not apply to the mayor and other elected officials, whose salaries are set by city law.
The mayor’s official salary is $225,000, but the billionaire accepts only $1.
The raise was announced in a written statement by Bloomberg Press Secretary Stu Loeser, on a Friday afternoon, a time frequently reserved for news meant to slip under the radar.
Bloomberg has been warning of layoffs and other drastic action for months, citing plunging tax revenues and a shriveled up economy.
The budget is balanced through next June, with more than $2 billion in a health fund that could be tapped in a crisis. Multibillion-dollar gaps loom for the following years.
Loeser’s statement stressed that the salaries of some unionized civil servants are higher than those of their supervisors, discouraging desire for career advancement.
A unionized police deputy chief – one-star – makes $180,749, while a managerial assistant chief – two-star – makes $166,106, Loeser said.
In the Fire Department, such salary differentials have left 20% of managerial staff chief positions unfilled.
These hard-working civil servants deserve to get whatever raises are needed to keep them from going to work in the privat sector where they could probably make even more money. I’d rather pay more taxes to get good managers than pay some political hacks for screwing up the city.
no wonder they needed to increase the sales tax!!!! Probab;y this is payback time for allowing the mayor to run for another term. I will note vote for him!
anyone that would leave city work now for a private sector job in todays economy is a fool – even if it was for more money.. Bloomie gave this money to them unnecessarily on taxpaer backs,, They would have stayed. He did it to be a nice guy to them..
He just lost my vote. Of course this was introduced on a summer Friday on purpose – the traditional time when you release embarrassing news in the hopes that no one will notice it.
Well I have noticed, and I’m going to make it a priority to vote for Bill Thompson this election time around.
How about 69 million for School voutchers Mr. Mayor???
There. are. no. words.
I wonder what kickbacks he is going to get from this?
This was money that was owed to these city employees. These managers get a match to the DC 37 contract always and their increase was put on hold last year until now. Check the records and you will see that this is the case.
Good timing Mr. Bloomberg, now they won’t quit and join a different candidate’s campaign. Smart move, but see-through.
what do you mean by ‘quietly’. what noise was he supposed to make?
The Governor should now do the same for State Managers and give them their deserved annual managerial raise!!!!!!!!! I am proud to see the Mayor run the City as a business. Where are our elected state leaders to demand proper compensation for State Managers??
How about those of us managers working for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation??!?! Our President Alan Aviles probably won’t give us a DIME!!!
What makes you say Aviles will veto the raise? What is your assumption based on?