Mark-Viverito calls reported $192,000 salary request for NYC Council members ‘ridiculous’

A reported 71 percent raise for City Council members would be “ridiculous,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Thursday.

The leader of the 51-member lawmaking body told reporters at City Hall that the reported $192,000 salary request, first reported by the New York Daily News, was premature.

“It definitely is a ridiculous amount,” Mark-Viverito said, adding that she was not pursuing the amount reported. She demurred to say how much council members should get in a raise, or even if they deserve a raise.

Mark-Viverito did, however, confirm that some of her fellow members “did legitimately want this conversation.”

“This is a charter-mandated process we go through every four years,” she said. “We’re in the middle of that process right now.”

Council members currently earn an annual $112,500 salary, although each may earn an additional amount depending on what committees they chair — as much as $25,000 more for high-profile leadership roles.

A three-person commission is set to outline recommendations for raises for all city elected officials later this month. De Blasio’s office has previously said he would refuse any raises in his first term.

The Daily News report comes amid anger from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the arbitration process it opted for that is reported to recommend 1 percent raises for its 24,000 members.

Mark-Viverto said there should be no confusion between the negotiations the police union is mired in with what the city charter requires for lawmakers.

“It’s a totally different process,” she said.