No guaranteed raise for Andy
ALBANY — A recommended raise for Gov. Cuomo that would make him the nation’s highest-paid governor is no slam dunk, insiders say.
Cuomo would see his salary jump over three years from the $179,000 to a nation-high $250,000, under a recommendation from a commission made public last week.
But a legislative official and two lawmakers said the Legislature, which must sign off on the recommended hikes, could seek to tie the raises to reforms in the governor’s office in the same way the commission imposed changes on the state legislators in approving their salary hikes.
“There will be stuff that will have to be looked at,” the official said. “It’s certainly a lot of money.”
Such reforms could include more transparency on where new hires are placed, the banning of outside income like book revenue, which the governor received in the past, and the creation of a public database on economic development deals, the sources say.
Cuomo for two years called for a raise for lawmakers as long as it was tied to banning outside legislative income.
In clearing raises last week for lawmakers over the next three years, the four-member commission created by Cuomo and the Legislature did just that. It not only restricted lawmaker outside income to 15% of their public salaries, but eliminated most stipends for chairing committees, serving as ranking members or holding leadership posts.
But while raises for lawmaker, the attorney general, state controller and state agency commissioners approved by the commission automatically go into effect unless the Legislature blocks them by the end of the year or a suit is filed over the constitutionality of the panel’s actions, hikes for the governor and lieutenant governor must be cleared by the Legislature.
Spokesmen for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins had no comment on whether they would seek to impose ethics reforms on Cuomo’s office in exchange for the raise or even if they believe he deserves one, but said the leaders are waiting to read the pay commission’s report that is due Monday.
But Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, the Brooklyn Democrat who chairs the powerful Codes Committee, said he expects lawmakers will ultimately sign off on the governor and lieutenant governor raises without conflict.
A Cuomo spokeswoman had no comment.
One Albany insider dismissed threats the Legislature could act to block a raise for Cuomo as “just pettiness from self-described reformers.”
Starting Jan. 1, the legislative base salary would jump to $110,000, the highest among state legislators in the country. It would grow to $120,000 in 2020 and $130,000 in 2021.
Some or all of the legislative raises going into effect are also no guarantee.
If a suit is filed, the raises and conditions attached to them could be nullified by a judge, which would mean the lawmakers would need to pass legislation raising salaries the governor would have to sign.
Also, the second and third years of the raises are contingent on the Legislature passing timely budgets.