HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 06-09 Ramsey County commissioners poised to approve 2 percent pay hike PIONEER PRESS Ramsey County commissioners poised to
approve 2 percent pay hike
By Frederick Melo
finelo@pioneerpress.com(mailto:fineloQapioneerpress.wm?subject=TwinCiries.com:)
POSTED: �6/092015 07'.02'.41 AM CDT
UPDATED: O6/0920�5 07�.36:14 AM CDT
When Ramsey County Commissioner Victoi•ia Reinhardt won her seat in i996,she held on to her part-time job
with the state of Minnesota's Office of Environmental Assistance.But it didn't last long.
Between the two positimis,"I realized I was literally putting in 8o hours a week,"said Reinhardt,who represents
Maplewood,North St.Paul and White Bear Lake on the seven-member county board.
"This really is 5o to 6o hours per week--weekends,evenings,"Reinhaidt said."It's not a 9-to-5."
With those work hours in mind,she plans to vote"yes"Tuesday on a proposal that would increase the annual
salaries of the seven commissioners by 2 percent,from$86,i6i to$87,88q.
She'll be joined by Board Chair Jim McDonough and several other commissioners,who have embraced the general
strategy of keeping their own salary increases in line with those of most county government workers,including the
county's largest labor unions.
"There is this perception that somewhere this is classified as a part-time job,"said McDonough,who said serving
on the coimty board is full-time and then some."I'm on iS,i9,or 20 outside boards and committees....Some of
those are one meeting a month,but some of those are two or three meetings a month.And you have to prepare for
those meetings."
Under the Ramsey County charter,the commissioners must set their salary each year by ordinance and host public
hearings,even if the proposed increase is zero.
advertisement On June z,a single critic showed up for the hearing to criticize
..:;
�.��
- the proposed 2 percentincrease.
� � John Siqveland,a county spokesman,noted that the job is
`� � officially classified by the county's Human Resources
,/�y � � Department as full-time,even if commissioners maintain
�� outside em lo
p yment,as several do.
i
�; Y i
, �i' s ��; Few if any board members;however,keep regular 9-to-5 office
`i
� ,�� hours in their wunty offices.McDonough said that when he
� "� �'����� � ��� � was elected in November 2000,he held onto his job in
4�� µ�4,n�OQF� � construction because he enjoyed the work and felt it kept him
�; I ' � ,,,�M,.,..,.,,.,.� grounded.
"I tried to keep that for a couple of years.But it was really hard.
I was cheating both sides,"McDonough said.
More recently,the county board chair accepted a part-time position at the Home Depot Garden Center in
Woodbury,where he puts in is to 2o hours meeting with constituents around his favorite hobby.
Commissioner Toni Carter said her workload adds up to So to bo hours per week.
"There's both the local work,the state-level work,and the national work,"she said."I would estimate I probably
have i2 active committees that are either local or metrowide.To perform this work to my standards...requires me
to work full time-plus."
Reinhardt said her aim is to avoid"catch-up"votes such as the one in 200�,where the board drew a backlash for
adopting a z5 percent increase after years of forgoing significant salary adjustments."It seems like the most
logical way to do it,instead of picking a number out of the air or giving ourselves'zeroes'and then trying to catch
up,"Reinhardt said.
Commissioner Blake Huffman plans to cast a"no"vote against the salary increase on Tuesday and donate his raise
--if it passes—to nonprofit charitable causes in his district."I'll vote against the raise,definitely,not even a
doubt,"Huffman said."I thiuk the pay is fine the way it is.I think it's a distraction."
When Huffman was elected to the county board in November 2oi2,he held a full-time job as a financial manager
and vice president with Wells Fargo bank.
He also served as the volunteer executive director of the Shore��iew Area Housing Initiative,which buys houses
and rents them to single mothers at affordable prices.
"Over the last couple of years,for me to be the commissioner I want to be,I've reduced my work at Wells Fargo,"
Huffman said.His role with the housing initiati��e has also been put on the backburner,he said,though he
continues to volunteer tirith them from time to time.But the county has plenty of housing initiatives of its own that
require his attention.
He figures his work week with the county adds up to 4o hours or more.
"I stay up late at night.The nice thing about being a commissioner is yot�have a mix of stuff during the day and
during the evening--I'd say three nights a week I'm at an event or a meeting,"he said."It might be a nonprofit
get-together,it might be a constituent that wants to talk to you."
Commissioner Janice Rettman said she puts in 6o hours or more in sen�ce to the county board and the voters who
elected her.
Nevertheless,she,too,plans to vote against tl�e salary increase.
"I think we are already very,very well paid,"sl�e said last week."I am watching out for other people's
pocketbooks."
Frederick Melo can be reached at 6gi-z28-zi�2.Follow him at twitter com/Freder;ckM21n
f httn://twitter.com/FrederickM�.