Every few years, civically-minded Minnesotans vote to elect city council members and mayors. But are these elected officials full-time employees of their government?
In most cases, they aren’t. The vast majority of Minnesota’s 855 cities do not pay elected officials anywhere near a livable wage. In fact, only Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Rochester pay council members and mayors a salary that could be considered more than supplemental income (with one exception being the mayor of St Cloud).
For part-time council members and mayors, “they have a separate job, a separate business, or family obligations and council is just a little bit of supplemental income,” said Amber Eisenschenk Research Manager for the League of Minnesota Cities. “It’s not something that you could pay a mortgage with.”
Here’s a look at different city structure in the state:
Charter v. statutory cities
Minnesota cities fall into two categories: charter and statutory. Charter cities have more power and can define their own powers, while statutory cities operate within state laws. About 107 of Minnesota’s 855 cities are charter cities, Eisenschenk said.
In charter cities, a mayor has more responsibility than the majority of cities in the state, including running departments and being in more of a “CEO role.” In contrast, mayors in statutory cities serve as a member of a council and have an equal vote to council members. These statutory cities often use city administrators or managers as their top appointed officials.
In particularly small cities, a city clerk may serve as the top administrator. City administrators and managers are generally appointed by the mayor and council as cities increase in size and complexity.
These top appointed officials run the day-to-day operations of a city but council retains the authority to make major policy and decisions. The state’s largest cities generally have a city manager. Usually cities with city managers are charter cities, which represent a fraction of cities in the state and a majority of cities in the Twin Cities metro.
What determines a city’s government structure?
As is the case in all states, cities come in all shapes and sizes, Minnesota’s smallest cities, Funkley and Kinbrae, each with a population of only 12. Meanwhile, the nearly 3,000 square miles of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area has a population of close to three million people between seven counties and 182 communities, according to the Metropolitan Council.
Population is only one factor informing a city’s structure, said Eisenschenk.
Charter cities essentially create their own local constitution. “The distinction between home-rule cities and statutory cities is one of organization and powers and is not based on differences in population, size, location, or any other physical feature,” according to a local government guide by the Minnesota Secretary of State.
“Wanting a more sophisticated operation is another factor,” Eisenschenk said. “The demands on city governments haven’t gotten any less – things like reporting requirements, finance requirements.”
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The more complex of services a city has, the more likely it is to have a city administrator or manager. City responsibilities traditionally include police and fire protection, street maintenance, sewer and water services, parks and recreation. However, some cities also provide utilities, sell liquor, operate hospitals, maintain airports, provide ambulance services, or provide other services.
Though city demands are rising, a city transitioning from a statutory to charter form of government is still rare. It only happens a handful of times every decade, Eisenschenk said. The process involved in becoming a charter is quite lengthy. A city has to garner local voter approval via a ballot proposal, draft a charter document, and get state legislative authorization to formally become a charter city.
A look at the life of a part-time mayor
Mayors have the choice to put as much time into the job as they deem necessary, said Woodbury Mayor Anne Burt. Burt ran for mayor after already spending 40 years in her career, raising her children and volunteering and serving Woodbury in different ways over many decades. She ran for mayor after her youngest child started college.
When she started as mayor, she had a part-time consulting role as well. She saw her position as mayor as “an opportunity to give back to the community that had given so much back to me over the years.”
Burt makes only $1,390 a month for her role as an elected official, but she said she doesn’t do it for the money.
“The way it’s set up lends itself to having people in these roles of council and mayor who are passionate about it; want to make a difference,” Burt said. “The money really has nothing to do with it.”
In addition to her work as mayor, Burt chooses to also sit on the board of the Woodbury Community Foundation and the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce.
The daily work of a mayor includes meetings with staff, constituents and community organizations. More broadly, a mayor also works with fellow cities, county officials and legislatures at both the state and federal level to advocate for the needs of their constituents.
“We just want to be champions of our community, to make it a great place to live, to work, to recreate, to raise a family,” Burt said. “That’s where our fist passion is along with ensuring that we’re delivering all of the things that cities do – ensuring we’ve got public safety, ensuring we have a public works department that’s fully functioning. We provide streets, trails and parks.”
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A look at elected official salaries
With all that said, there’s a large range of salaries offered to elected officials for their work.
Council members are charged with many facets of governance, including passing various policies.
“Part of a council member’s salary is going to be the time that they spend talking to their constituents,” Eisenschenk said.
With the whole range of possible government structures, here’s a look at the salaries for mayors and council members some of the Twin Cities metro’s five largest cities:
Minneapolis
Population: 425,096
Number of council members: 13
Council member salary: $109,846 a year
Mayor salary: $140,814
St. Paul
Population: 303,176
Number of council members: 7
Council member salary: $73,091
Mayor salary: $146,182
Bloomington
Population: 87,797
Number of council members: 6
Council member salary: $12,396
Mayor salary: $26,400
Brooklyn Park
Population: 83,324
Number of council members: 6
Council member salary: $12,291
Mayor salary: $21,995
Woodbury
Population: 78,561
Number of council members: 5
Council member salary: $12,006
Mayor salary: $16,680
