Minneapolis council members won't see a pay raise in 2024
(FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - After an analysis found Minneapolis city council members are overpaid compared to their peers in similar-sized cities, the council voted Thursday to skip taking a pay raise for the next two years.
The recent analysis by Minneapolis staff, performed at the request of the council itself, found that members are paid 135% of the median pay for similar cities in the United States. Minneapolis council members make just short of $110,000 per year.
That salary puts them just behind Seattle council members, who collect $137,432 per year, and just ahead of the Denver city council – where council members simultaneously serve the city and county.
The analysis put the median pay for similar-sized cities at $81,330. It also shows Minneapolis council members made more than that median back in 2014 when members earned a salary of $82,362. Since then, the council members' pay has ballooned by 25%.
Across the river, St. Paul council members only make $73,091 per year.
Thursday morning, council members approved a resolution to block a pay raise for Minneapolis council members for the next two-year term. The resolution still needs to go through a vote at the next full council meeting but its approval appears all but guaranteed, passing 12-0 on Thursday.