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Pay raises could soon be coming to high ranking state officials, who are making far less than their counterparts in New York City, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration.
Hochul’s budget office pushed for the raises this week by releasing data showing that many senior state officials make as much a $50,000 less than city officials with similar job titles — and sometimes even less than their own subordinates.
The data about the low state pay was reveled during hearing Thursday by a state commission charged with recommending raises for lawmakers and other pols, such as the Governor, and the administration’s top brass.
“In my view, the senior officials in our state government are under compensated and a[n] upwards adjustment is likely warranted,” Victor Kovner, the Governor’s appointee to the commission said at the meeting Thursday.
“I have trouble to see the disparity of compensation for comparable positions in the city of New York with the state of New York.”
Sources also tell The Post that the Governor had toyed with the idea of pay raises in this year’s state budget negotiations, but abandoned the idea.
The pay commission, which makes it recommendations every four years, is set to make its next pay decisions before Nov. 15.
It’s recommendations can go into effect without action by the legislature and governor.
While it’s unclear exactly how the commission will proceed, it’s a good sign for the agency heads that at least two of the seven commissioners on the panel seem receptive of the idea and that Hochul’s office seems interested.
Reps for government groups that closely watch the commission also didn’t raise any significant red flags about raises for the agency heads specifically.
The comparison to the Big Apple’s pay scale was the biggest argument in the budget office’s report presented to the pay commission.
For example, the state commissioners of health, transportation and corrections all make $220,000 a year, whereas their city counterparts make $277,604.
Of the 25 agency heads reflected in the budget office’s presentation, only one of them – the state education department commissioner – makes more than their Big Apple colleague.
The group also discussed scenarios where agency heads are making less than other senior bureaucrats in their agencies, which have their pay set by other means.
“I think that what I’m more troubled by is when you have people here in the state of New York, when their subordinates are making significantly more money than the people that are leading the agency.” Terri Egan, the Assembly’s appointee noted.
“After the Commission asked the Division of Budget to research and compare compensation levels across various government entities, DOB collected the requested facts and shared them during today’s meeting. The Commission operates independently of the Executive Chamber and we will await the details of their findings,” a budget office spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
A spokesperson for the state Senate majority quickly panned the idea that legislators would return to Albany this year for a surprise special session to raise their own pay like they did in 2022.
“There will be no special session for a pay raise for legislators,” Senate Democratic Conference Spokesperson Mike Murphy told The Post.
New York state legislators are currently the highest paid in the country, making a hefty $142,000 a year despite only being in session in Albany from January through June.