The Hennepin County Commissioners just voted to raise their pay by 49%. Sometimes this is justified, when the starting pay is unreasonably low. A large percent of a very small number is still a small number. But here the Commissioners were already at what people in this part of the US would consider a nice salary.
District 2 member Irene Fernando proposed the pay raise during Tuesday’s Administration, Operations, and Budget Committee meeting. The proposal would increase the current salary cap for commissioners from $122,225 to $182,141.
According to Fred, this figure is double of the per capita income in the state.
The commissioners stated that this new amount brings their wage in line with other county executives. But is this a fair comparison? Should elected officials be motivated to serve and then draw an adequat salary? Or should the salary be the motivator to run for office?
The Governor chooses to take home only $127K a year. He seems to think that part of the prize is the job, not the wage.
A strong monetary motivation can also produce golden handcuffs. It’s commonly accepted that incumbent county officials (or city coucil people for that matter) rarely loose their position in an election. Their name recognition and familiarity with the constituents often secures their job. Is it a good idea to pay out a salary that would be tough to duplicate elsewhere and thus encourage someone to stick with it once they’ve lost interest in the spirit of the work?
When I was young, I often heard that jobs from teachers to government positions were done with a spirit of public service. That generation appears to have retired from the workforce.
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