Hennepin County commissioners move to give up pay raises

Updated: February 10, 2009 - 8:53 PM

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Hennepin County commissioners on Tuesday agreed unanimously to forgo their pay raises for 2010, rejecting a 3.4 percent pay increase they had approved last October that would have boosted their salaries above $100,000.

Things have changed since they voted for the raise, commissioners said.

Commissioner Mark Stenglein called the stagnating economy "an unparalleled situation." Gail Dorfman said the county is getting calls for help from people who have lost jobs or are losing their homes who aren't poor enough to qualify for government aid.

"We're all in this together ... . This is a way we can sacrifice as well," she said.

The commissioners faced a bit of a legal bind when they decided to give up their raises. The law requires them to vote before Election Day on any salary increases for the next two years, and it also appears to prevent them from lowering their pay rates in mid-term.

Their legal advisers recommended that they avoid complications with the law by simply choosing as individual commissioners not to take the increase.

Board members were to submit letters to the county administrator by the end of the day Tuesday if they were giving up their raises. Administrator Richard Johnson said he won't know if anyone breaks ranks and takes the raise until he comes in to work today.

This year the commissioners will be paid $97,080, making them the highest-paid county board members in Minnesota. They would have seen their salary jump to $100,380 in 2010. The usual board practice is to give themselves the same maximum pay raise that union workers in the county received for the previous year.

MARY JANE SMETANKA