Pols’ lesson: Hike cop pay

CITY COUNCIL members seized on the big raise Mayor de Blasio gave his new schools chancellor to push for raises for city cops.

Councilman Rory Lancman pointed out that de Blasio justified the high pay for his schools boss by saying it’s fair to match salaries paid in other cities — yet NYPD officers make less than their counterparts in many surrounding jurisdictions.

“Do you agree that police officers are entitled to the same standard?” Lancman (D-Queens) asked Police Commissioner James O’Neill at a budget hearing Monday.

The city will pay the new schools chancellor, Richard Carranza, $345,000 to do the job — matching the salary he made as superintendent in Houston. That’s 47% more than the $234,500 earned by outgoing Chancellor Carmen Fariña — although Fariña also collects a pension of $211,000 on top of her salary.

De Blasio (photo left) was set to pay even more, $353,000, to his first choice for schools chancellor, Alberto Carvalho — matching his salary running Miami schools — before Carvalho changed his mind about taking the job.

“In other cities around

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the country, including much smaller cities, the salary levels are much higher for the head of the school system,” de Blasio said. “It was a perfectly fair request.”

Lancman said the same case could be made for cops — who are often paid less than officers in places like Nassau County, as well as agencies with a presence in the city such as the Port Authority and MTA police.

“A tremendous disparity exists even between police organizations that operate in New York City,” he noted, adding cops may be fleeing the NYPD to take better-paying jobs.

O’Neill (photo right) said he’s all for higher pay, but has faith in the contract negotiation process.

“I agree that police officers should be treated fairly, and they should be compensated,” he said. “It has to be what the city can afford, too, and we’re in the middle of collective bargaining.”

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the city are in a contract battle after their deal expired over the summer.

“We have been saying for a long time that our men and women deserve to be paid a fair market wage,” said PBA President Patrick Lynch.

Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) asked about a PBA survey claiming that officers’ morale is at rock bottom, and that cops showing up in large numbers at seminars to learn about pension benefits.

O’Neill said that’s just responsible financial planning, not a sign of trouble.

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