Every two weeks the New York City Council meets for its Stated Meeting to introduce and pass legislation. As a regular feature, Searchlight covers these meetings and posts a summary of the bills passed.
MEETING SUMMARY:
COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT
The New York City Council voted to change its own internal policies regarding employment discrimination and harassment.
One amendment bans all forms of workplace harassment - whether it is racial, ethnic, religious or sexual in nature. It requires that anyone who receives a complaint report it to the speaker’s office.
Another amendment establishes a new code of conduct for council members. It defines "disorderly behavior" and gives the council new powers to discipline anyone who violates the rules, ranging from an official reprimand to expulsion from the council.
"This sends a strong message of zero-tolerance of any type of harassment," said Speaker Christine Quinn.
Quinn ordered a review of the body's harassment policies shortly after taking office in January. Last year, Queens Councilmember Allan Jennings (who is no longer in office) was found guilty of improperly firing one employee on his staff and creating a hostile work environment.
The council spent nine months investigating the incidents, and former Speaker Gifford Miller was criticized for how he handled the complaints.
"We saw over the course of that nine-month investigation that we need to make City Hall a very serious place," said Councilmember Joel Rivera, who chaired the committee charged with dealing with the Jennings' case. "I'm sure with these changes that we will not have anyone else who needs to appear before our Standard's and Ethics Committee in the future - knock on wood."
CHILD ABUSE REPORTING
Another council bill will require that the Administration for Children's Services provide new quarterly reports on its efforts to combat child abuse. Under the legislation (Intro 15-A), the agency must report information such as the number of child abuse complaints it receives, how many cases each staff person is working on, and how the agency is responding to individual incidents.
The bill was drafted in response to the death of Nixzmary Brown, a 7-year old girl who was beaten to death by her stepfather while under the supervision of the agency.
Councilmember Bill deBlasio said that if the new regulations had been in place at the time, Brown's death might have been prevented.
"We need public accountability, and we haven't had it up until now," said deBlasio. "We will be able to see what is working, what is not working and make changes accordingly."
HEALTH BENEFIT FUND
As part of this year's budget proposal, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for the creation of $2 billion trust fund for retiree health benefits. The fund is a plan to pay for future health care costs for city employees.
The council has supported the plan and recently allocated $1 billion toward the plan.
At the meeting, the council voted to officially create the fund that will be monitored by the city comptroller.
"This is a good and bold idea," said Quinn.
(For another view of the health fund, see a Gotham Gazette article)
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS VEHICLES
In recent years, the council has worked to require that city-owned vehicles meet certain fuel and hybrid technology standards in an effort to reduce pollution. At the same time, lawmakers do not want the regulations to limit the city's ability to purchase the specialized emergency vehicles it needs.
The council passed an exemption from the fuel-efficient requirements (Intro 208-A) for certain buses and emergency response vehicles used by the Department of Corrections. The office of emergency management, the sheriff’s office, police department, and the fire department are already allowed to bypass the regulations when purchasing emergency equipment.
"This bill makes sure that the Department of Corrections has the tools they need to do their job," said Councilmember James Gennaro.
All of these bills passed by a vote of 50 to 0.
The next Stated Meeting is scheduled for June 28, 2006.
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Each New York City Council member makes a base salary of $90,000. However, council members can also earn an additional stipend or "lulu" ranging from $4,000 to $28,500 for serving in various leadership positions or as a chair of a committee. In 2006, the council awarded itself a total of $479,500 in stipends.
One member decided not to take the extra money; Councilmember Tony Avella declined $8,000 for chairing the Zoning and Franchise Committee. Five others members - Letitia James, Andrew Lanza, Melissa Mark Viverito, Darlene Mealy, and Rosie Mendez - do not receive stipends or chair committees.
The following chart is organized by categories "Leadership Positions," "Standing Committees, " "Subcommitees," and "Select Committees" and by the size of the stipend, from the largest to the smallest.
New York City Council members are also the only local elected officials who are allowed to earn outside income from other jobs. See a chart of non-city income earned by council members.
POSITION | MEMBER | STPIEND | TOTAL |
Leadership Positions | |||
Speaker |
Christine C. Quinn | $28,500 | $118,500 |
Majority Leader/Health | Joel Rivera | $23,000 | $113,000 |
Deputy Majority Leader/Consumer Affairs | Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. | $20,000 | $110,000 |
Minority Leader | James S. Oddo | $18,000 | $108,000 |
Assistant Majority Leader/General Welfare | Bill de Blasio | $15,000 | $105,000 |
Assistant Majority Leader/Youth Services | Lewis A. Fidler | $15,000 | $105,000 |
Majority Whip/Standards and Ethics | Inez E. Dickens | $11,000 | $101,000 |
Minority Whip | Dennis P. Gallagher | $5,000 | $95,000 |
Standing Committees | |||
Finance | David I. Weprin | $18,000 | $108,000 |
Land Use | Melinda R. Katz | $18,000 | $108,000 |
Housing and Buildings | Erik Martin Dilan | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services | G. Oliver Koppell | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Women's Issues | Helen Sears | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Aging | Maria del Carmen Arroyo | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Civil Rights | Larry B. Seabrook | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Civil Service and Labor | Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Contracts | Yvette D. Clarke | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations | Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Economic Development | Thomas White, Jr. | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Education | Robert Jackson | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Environmental Protection | James F. Gennaro | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Fire and Criminal Justice Services | Miguel Martinez | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Governmental Operations | Simcha Felder | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Higher Education | Charles Barron | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Immigration | Kendall Stewart | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Juvenile Justice | Sara M. Gonzalez | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Lower Manhattan Redevelopment | Alan J. Gerson | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Oversight and Investigations | Eric N. Gioia | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Parks and Recreation | Helen D. Foster | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Public Safety | Peter F. Vallone, Jr. | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Rules, Privileges and Elections | Diana Reyna | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Sanitation and Waste Management | Michael E. McMahon | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Small Business | David Yassky | $10,000 | $100,000 |
State and Federal Legislation | Maria Baez | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Technology in Government | Gale A. Brewer | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Transportation | John C. Liu | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Veterans | Hiram Monserrate | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Waterfronts | Michael C. Nelson | $10,000 | $100,000 |
Subcommittees | |||
Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses (Land Use) |
Jessica S. Lappin | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Planning Dispositions and Concessions (Land Use) | Daniel R. Garodnick | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Drug Abuse (Mental Health) |
Annabel Palma | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Public Housing (Housing and Buildings) |
Rosie Mendez | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Senior Centers (Aging) |
James Vacca | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Select Committees | |||
Community Development |
Albert Vann | $4,000 | $94,000 |
Libraries | Vincent J. Gentile | $4,000 | $94,000 |
The chart below lists the range of "non-city income" that members of the New York City Council declared in 2004 (the most recent year available). This income is in addition to the $90,000 a year salary each council member earns and any stipends for serving as a chair of the committee or in a leadership position. (Click here for a list of council salaries and stipends).
Each council member is required to fill out a financial disclosure report with the Conflict of Interest Board, listing outside income and its sources. Although council members do not have to disclose the exact amount of outside income earned, they are required to give a range. The categories are $1,000 to under $5,000; $5,000 to under $35,000; $35,000 to under $60,000; $60,000 to under $100,000; $100,000 to under $250,00; $250,000 to under $500,000; $500,000 or more.
Council members who did not declare additional information are not listed. Also there is no information availabe for eight members - Inez E. Dickens, Daniel R. Garodnick, Jessica S. Lappin, Melissa Mark Viverito, Darlene Mealy, Rosie Mendez, James Vacca, and Thomas White, Jr. - who did not take office until January 2006. Some information in the report is illegible and is marked with a "?" in the chart.
COUNCIL MEMBER
|
SOURCE
|
TYPE OF INCOME
|
RANGE OF OUTSIDE INCOME
|
TOTAL INCLUDING COUNCIL SALARY AND STIPEND
|
|
MINIMUM
|
MAXIMUM
|
||||
Avella, Tony | Park Ave. Securities | Dividends (Jointly Owned) | $1,000 | $5,000 | At least $91,000 |
Brewer, Gale | B and B? | Income | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $105,000 |
DeBlasio, Bill | John Edwards for President, Inc. | Consulting | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $105,000 |
Fidler Lewis | A. Roberts & Fidler PC | Salary and Distribution |
$35,000 | $60,000 | At least $179,000 |
Roberts, Fidler and Mirasol | Draw | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
Plaintiff Funding Corp | Salary | $35,000 | $60,000 | ||
Emigrant Savings Bank Bank | Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Roslyn Savings Bank | Bank Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Janney Montgomery Scott | Bond Dividends | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Munder Funds | Dividends | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Gerson, Alan J. |
Inheritance from Uncle | Pension and Annuities | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $105,000 |
Jackson, Robert | Cornell University Extension Program | Salary for Instructor | $1,000 | $5,000 | At least $101,000 |
Koppell, G. Oliver | Koppell, Leavitt, Kerson and Duane LLP |
Law Firm Income | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $241,000 |
Law Offices of G. Oliver Koppell & Associates | Law Firm Income | $100,000 | $250,000 | ||
Coyle & Assoc. LLP | Law Firm Income | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
State of NY | Pension | $35,000 | $60,000 | ||
Lanza, Andrew J. | TD Waterhouse |
Dividend Inc. | $1,000 | $5,000 | At least $92,000 |
US Treasury | Interest Inc. | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
McMahon, Michael E. | O'Leary, McMahon and Spero | Salary | $100,000 | $250,000 | At least $200,000 |
Apple Bank |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
CitiBank |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
City + Suburban |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
North Fork |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Recchia, Domenic M. | Self-Employed |
Law Practice Income | $100,000 | $250,000 | At least $310,000 |
Stratton, VT |
Rental Income | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
Stratton, VT |
Rental Income | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
Stratton, VT |
Sale of Property | $100,000 | $250,000 | ||
Seabrook, Larry B. | John Jay College |
Adjunct Prof. | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $105,000 |
Sears, Helen | U.S. Treasury |
Social Security | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $123,000 |
IRA |
? | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
Chase Bank |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Independence Bk |
Interest | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
UBS |
Dividends | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
? |
Annuity | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
? |
? | $5,000 | $35,000 | ||
Stewart, Kendall | Kendall Stewart - Podiastrist |
Medical Practice | $60,000 | $100,000 | At least $160,000 |
Vallone, Jr., Peter | Vallone & Vallone |
Law | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $106,000 |
Valley Rock Realty |
Real Estate | $1,000 | $5,000 | ||
Vann Albert | Rent |
$5,000 | $35,000 | At least $104,000 | |
Social Security |
$5,000 | $35,000 | |||
Weprin, David I. | Sieratzki Ceccarelli & Weprin LLP Law Firm |
Draw | $5,000 | $35,000 | At least $218,000 |
Sterne, Agree & Leach Inc. |
Investment Banker Salary | $100,000 | $250,000 | ||
Misc. Law Firms of Counsel Work |
$5,000 | $35,000 | |||
Yassky, David | Aim Aggressive Growth |
Sale of Mutual Fund Shares | $1,000 | $5,000 | At least $102,000 |
Yassky Wyndham Partnership Limited Partner; | Real Estate | $1,000 | $5,000 |
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