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Feb 4, 2009 11:15 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Pay Raises For Government Employees
(WCCO)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is proposing deep cuts to almost every part of state government, including health care for working people who are poor. So he's irritated that some public officials and public employees are getting a pay hike.
"We've got county boards in this state," said Pawlenty, "and on the very day they are complaining about the potential reductions in state aid, they are voting themselves and their employees a pay raise, when nobody else in Minnesota is getting a raise."
The governor's right. A spot check of Minnesota counties shows both Hennepin and Ramsey County Commissioners are getting a pay hike of about 3 percent each.
This year, Hennepin County Commissioner pay will rise to $97,080 and Ramsey County Commissioners get a boost to $82,400.
So are Anoka, Mower and Beltrami counties. (Read more
here and
here.)
But that's NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
Local governments can't change current union contracts until they come up for renegotiation. And some counties, like Sherburne and Waseca,
raised non-union worker pay but
froze commissioner salaries.
But many local governments are cutting back, including the
tiny northern Minnesota town of Cook.
Recognizing the tough times, the mayor and city council voted themselves a 10 percent pay cut.
Here is what you NEED TO KNOW.
When it comes to salaries, Minnesota is all over the board. And there are no laws regulating how much cities and counties can pay, except for one -- Minnesota law limits local government salaries to 10 percent above what the Governor earns. That's about $145,000 a year.
But some jobs are exempt, and numerous public employees earn a lot more than that, like county attorneys and sheriffs.
Here's a list.
That's Reality Check.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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