City Exploring Increase in Council Member Wages 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — With City Council member salaries stuck in a $14,500-per-year holding pattern the past several years, the current five-member council will explore increasing those wages for the four commissioners and the mayor in the future.  

“At present, City Council members, for retirement benefits, are supposed to be working 33 hours per week. If you divide the (current) pay, which is $14,500, that’s $8.44 (per hour) which is well below minimum wage,” Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi told the council this week

A Local Law which will provide an annual increase for each of the five members of the council from $14,500 annually to $27,456 is being crafted with an eye on a discussion and vote in January.  

The annual increase to $27,456 reflects the $16 per hour minimum wage rate that will be going into effect for upstate New York in 2026. The $27,456 annual council wage would similarly go into effect following November 2025 elections and with a newly elected council in 2026.  

A second Local Law being drafted features the addition of a $15,000 stipend specific to the mayor.  

It is anticipated Public Hearings on both proposed Local Laws will be held Jan. 21 at City Hall, in advance of that evening’s council meeting.