Tough Sells

Eager not to appear self-serving, the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is backing off of changing term limit rules for now:

In an interview this week, the speaker said that while she has commissioned a poll on term limits, she is not committed to tackling the hot-button issue. She plans to brief council members later this month on the results of the poll. (“They were mixed,” is all Ms. Quinn would allow.)

Then there’s the other popular issue of pay raises:

The speaker has asked for a 25% raise for council members, but whether the commission or the mayor will support her is far from clear. Mr. Bloomberg last month offered no endorsement of a pay raise, suggesting that it should be determined by a formula factoring in skill level, education, and experience.

By most any standard, Ms. Quinn is asking for a lot. In addition to the 25% hike for council members — which would bring their base salary to $112,500 from $90,000 — Ms. Quinn is also asking the commission to allow the lawmakers to keep their stipends for committee chairmanships and leadership positions. The stipends range between $4,000 and $18,000, but because the council has so many standing committees — more than the House of Representatives — all but five city lawmakers get the extra money.