NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 9:41 AM

The mayor's poll numbers may be down, but salaries for his staff are going up, up, up.

Mayor de Blasio doled out $2.8 million in raises in fiscal year 2017, which ended June 30, a Daily News analysis found.

The News analyzed the salaries of 538 staffers who worked in the mayors office in both fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and found that 426 of them got raises. Of those, 40 staffers got pay hikes of 20% or more and 15 saw their pay increase by 30% or better.

The payroll data for fiscal 2016 and 2017 were obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request.

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The biggest raise, measured as a percentage of the salary, went to Alexander Merchant whose salary shot up 81% from $67,000 in 2016 to $121,000 this year.

Merchants pay hike came in two parts a raise to $82,555 in December 2016 for a promotion within the mayors Office of Operations.

Next, he received a jump to $121,000 in May for a new position as an adviser with the first deputy mayors office, according to City Hall.

Mkada Beach, chief of staff at the Mayors Office of Special Projects and Events, saw her salary boosted by 38%, to $85,000 before being suspended without pay in June.

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Beach was charged in connection with an auto insurance fraud ring busted by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. She has since been let go, city officials said.

Avi Fink who has been linked to several questionable campaign donors saw his salary climb by 42% this year.

Fink, 31, was promoted to be the mayors deputy chief of staff in October. His salary jumped then and once again on March 1, landing at $175,000.

While not reflected in their titles as listed in the payroll documents, many of those earning raises of 30% or more Merchant, Beach and Fink included wound up in entirely new jobs, moving from one office to another, with new responsibilities, said de Blasio spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein.

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I know its fun to beat on public servants, but these are people who received promotions or more senior jobs. When you get a new job, you get a new salary, whether you work in city government or a grocery store, Goldstein said.

The most common raise was for considerably less 3%, which was what 302 staffers gained. That is in line with the raises that went to city employees who are represented by District Council 37, Goldstein said.

While de Blasio clearly approves of his staffers, just 50% of city voters gave Hizzoner favorable marks in the latest survey of his approval rating, released by Quinnipiac University this week.

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City Hall staffers see $2.8M in raises through fiscal year 2017 - NY ... - New York Daily News