Are City Council members underpaid?

For more than three decades, annual raises for members of Rochester City Council have been tied to the urban consumer price index and capped at 3 percent. In a narrow vote last month, Council broke with tradition—it hiked members’ pay by more than 20 percent. 

The salary increase—to $50,000 from roughly $40,000 in 2025—was quickly rescinded after public outcry. But questions sparked by the December vote remain: How much should councilmembers be paid? And how should salary levels for these elected city officials be determined?

Councilmembers favoring the pay hike believe that serving on the legislative body, while officially a part-time position, requires a full-time commitment. Many work other jobs in addition to their role on City Council, making it a challenge.

“I tried (to live on the Council salary) for two years, and I got into a lot of debt,” says Councilmember Mary Lupien. “When I got on Council, I really believed this should be full-time, and I worked at full-time.”

Councilmember Stanley Martin agrees. “We are out in the community meeting with constituents, we are reviewing and sometimes writing our own legislation, conducting our own research, and dealing with very complicated programs that go way beyond 30 hours a week,” she said at the Council’s monthly meeting on Dec. 16. “Currently, we’re paid around $40,000, which is not a livable wage.”

At that meeting, Councilmember Michael Patterson proposed an amendment to raise councilmembers’ salaries to $50,000, an approximately 25 percent increase. City Council President Miguel Meléndez also received a $10,000 pay hike, from $50,000 to $60,000, a 20 percent increase.

“Quite frankly, over the last four years, this Council has stepped up. It’s done significantly more work, it’s taken seriously its commitment to being a co-equal branch of government,” Patterson said at the meeting. “I believe that we’re doing even more work now.”

Added Lupien at the December meeting: “If we want this to be a professional position, we have to pay enough so that someone from the community can take this job. I think that the work in this community is so dire and the work of this body is so serious, and we previously hadn’t been taking it seriously as a co-equal branch of government.”

The amended legislation passed 5-4. Councilmembers Patterson, Lupien, Martin, LaShay Harris, and Kim Smith voted in favor of the increase; Meléndez, Bridget Monroe, Mitch Gruber and Willie Lightfoot opposed it. Meléndez declined to accept his pay increase.

Those who voted no say the pay hikes were inconsistent with the city’s traditional process. They want an external study or a salary review commission. 

Though positions on City Council are considered part-time, Lupien says councilmembers—like Mayor Malik Evans, whose position is officially full-time—ought to receive a wage that allows them to make ends meet without the need for multiple jobs. (Evans’ pay for 2026 was increased to $176,040, a 3 percent hike.)

“I think (councilmembers’) work has always been full-time. It has been a cultural decision not to use our powers; our powers are coequal to the mayor’s,” Lupien says. “I don’t think we should just get paid more because we’re fighting to use our powers. The job is a legislative body that is coequal to the mayor, and our constituents expect us to be doing the work that they think we already do.”

What other cities pay

City councils across Upstate New York vary in both the wages they pay and the processes used to implement pay increases. Buffalo’s nine Common Council members—a full-time role—since 2024 have earned $84,473 annually. Yonkers—with a seven-member city council, including its president—in the same year saw raises to $88,000 for the council president, $73,000 for majority and minority leaders, and $58,000 for all other council members. (Members also receive a $15,000 stipend for chairing a committee.)

Buffalo has nearly 280,000 residents, and Yonkers has roughly 212,000; by comparison, Rochester’s population is about 207,000. 

In Syracuse and Albany, both smaller than Rochester, council salaries have lagged Rochester’s, despite recent raises. 

Syracuse’s Common Council salaries most recently increased from $35,020 to $38,000 for the president, with nine councilors earning $35,000, up from $31,836. Albany’s 15-member Common Council saw members’ pay rise in 2024 from $9,850 to $25,000, with its president earning $38,000 compared to $15,000 previously.

Council positions in those cities also are officially part-time.

“Councilmembers are required to work a minimum of 30 hours a week, yet many of us work well beyond those hours,” says Martin. “In contemplation of raises, (a) majority of us wanted to increase the pay to ensure that all councilmembers are paid a living wage, and therefore no longer have the burden of seeking full-time additional employment outside of Council.”

Setting salaries

Since 1989, Rochester City Council has set salary levels for both the mayor and City Council in the first year of each term, with raises aligned with the annual cost of living. Once set by Council, salaries for the next three years rise annually based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)—capped at 3 percent a year.

The cost-of-living adjustment is intended to protect the salary from inflation-related changes, while the 3 percent cap protects the taxpayer from any CPI spikes that might occur. 

Buffalo’s and Syracuse’s councils have instituted raises based on recommendations from either salary review commissions or external studies. Opponents of the now-rescinded Rochester pay hike say a larger-than-usual increase without a similar process would be irresponsible.

“I think it’s the opposite of good government. I think if any other elected body was doing this, everyone on the stage would be furious,” Gruber said last month. “I’m not disagreeing with anyone’s perspective about the pay of Council. … If people think that the (current) number is wrong, then we should go through a process to fix it.”

In addition to serving on City Council, Gruber works as Foodlink’s chief impact officer. Similar concerns were voiced by Council president Meléndez, who also is chief community engagement officer at Ibero-American Action League.

“On merit, I understand that we have some compression issues in our department. We certainly have an issue where our legislative aides are very close to councilmember salaries and we should be evaluating that,” Meléndez said in December. “I would be in favor of looking at a commission or study of some kind to spend some energy on this.”

Lupien contends, however, that commissioning a study ultimately would cost more than the pay increase.

“Ten thousand dollars for nine council members, most of which would have turned it down the money, (or) we would pay an outside commission to do a study. … How many studies do we need?” Lupien asks. “I think it’s just a way to slow it down and stop it.”

Seeking community involvement

The Jan. 2 vote to rescind the pay hikes for Meléndez and councilmembers was unanimous. Councilmembers who spoke to the Beacon say the decision was made to allow community voices a chance to weigh in on the proposed raises.

“Though our Council rules allow for amendments on the floor, the most consistent feedback I received was around the opportunity for community involvement and discussion,” says Martin, “and ensuring that the conversation about wages also includes a plan for raising the wages of all Rochester residents.”

Meléndez says legislation to institute a CPI-U raise could be reintroduced as early as February. To evaluate the need for higher raises, he points to a process similar to Monroe County’s Compensation Review Commission, whose seven members review information and report recommendations on pay increases to the County Legislature.

“This concept is being worked on and will eventually make its way to the law department,” Meléndez says. “I will rely on the finance chair to work with my Council colleagues and introduce legislation on the matter.”

Those who favor a sizable pay boost say it would allow public service to accommodate all who wish to serve, rather than only those with the means to accept a lower wage.

“Who do we want to be our City Council people? Do we want them to be nonprofit executives or lawyers … or (do) we want single mothers, teachers, Uber drivers, EMT technicians (and) mental health professionals?” Lupien says. “These are jobs that don’t get paid very well, and if you want someone with that kind of expertise that is more grounded in community, they can’t work full-time for City Council.”

Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort.

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