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ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS · WWW.TWINCITIES.COM
<br />
<br /> Ow,
<br />
<br />LOCAL
<br />
<br />Mayors' salaries all over the map
<br />
<br />Eden Prairie mayor
<br />costs each taxpayer
<br />13 cents a year;
<br />it's four times that
<br />in Golden Valley
<br />
<br />BY BOB SHAW
<br />Pioneer Press
<br />
<br />Who is getting the most
<br />mayor for the least money?
<br /> The taxpayers of Eden
<br />Prairie have that honor, paying
<br />a mere 13 cents apiece per year
<br />for their mayor's $7,200 salary.
<br /> Thc reaction of mayor Nancy
<br />Tyra-Lukens of Eden Prairie
<br />was lightning-fast. "What? I
<br />should be getting battle pay,"
<br />she said. "This is a huge bargain
<br />(for taxpayers)."
<br /> If you live in Golden Valley,
<br />though, you pay nearly four times
<br />what Eden Prairie taxpayers do
<br />-- the highest in the survey.
<br /> "Don't tell my constituents,"
<br />said Linda Loomis, who has
<br />been Golden Valley mayor since
<br />January. "I am not responsible
<br />for setting the salary. The coun-
<br />cil before me set that."
<br /> The salary-per-capita calcu-
<br />lations can be made from the
<br />2002 salary survey made by the
<br />Association of Metropolitan
<br />Municipalities, based on 2000
<br />census figures.
<br /> A survey of salaries for 2002
<br />said that St. Paul had the highest-
<br />paid mayor at $93,146, with the
<br />Minneapolis mayor making
<br />about $5,000 less -- for running a
<br />larger city.
<br /> Larger cities generally pay
<br />elected officials more, but the
<br />survey showed some anomalies.
<br />For example, several of the bar-
<br />gain mayors -- those paid the
<br />least per capita in their cities --
<br />were in larger east- and south-
<br />metro suburbs, such as Wood-
<br />bury and Eagan.
<br /> Loomis said Golden Valley
<br />taxpayers are "definitely getting
<br />their money's worth."
<br /> Her $10,910 salary wasn't
<br />
<br />Mayors' Salaries: Most bang for the buck
<br />The salary of mayors of cities over 20,000 in the metro area.
<br /> Mayor's Council Mayor's salary
<br />City salary salaries in cents per citizen
<br />
<br />Golden Valley $10,910 $8,165
<br />New Hope $10,672 $7,553
<br />South St. Paul $10,200 $6,600
<br />New Brighton $8,600 $6,999
<br />Savage $8,000 $6,000
<br />
<br />Crystal $8,612 $6,624
<br />Brooklyn Center $9,870 $7,557
<br />Champlin $7,594 $5,836
<br />Fridley $9,448 $6,861
<br />Shakopee $6,756 $5,628
<br />
<br />St. Paul $93,146 $30,000
<br />White Bear Lake $7,680 $5,400
<br />Chanhassen $6,000 $4,800
<br />Maplewood $10,561 $9,294
<br />Andover $7,800 $6,650
<br />
<br />Oakdale $7,200 $5,820
<br />Blaine $11,268 $8,256
<br />Cottage Grove $7,800 $6,000
<br />Inver Grove Heights $7,500 $6,000
<br />Richfield $8,235 $6,392
<br />
<br />Minneapolis $88,000 $6S,678
<br />Brooklyn Park $15,492 $10,320
<br />Lakeville $9,996 $8,664
<br />Apple Valley $9,780 $6,984
<br />Bloomington $18,700 $11,700
<br />
<br />St. Louis Park $9,760 $6,365
<br />Maple Grove $11,000 $9,100
<br />Coon Rapids $12,800 $9,600
<br />Minnetonka $9,600 $7,200
<br />Burnsville $10,584 $7,440
<br />
<br />Plymouth $11,484 $8,316
<br />Woodbury $7,560 $5,820
<br />Eagan $9,500 $6,880
<br />Edina $7,000 $5,000
<br />Eden Prairie $7,200 $6,000
<br />
<br />Source: Association of Metropoliton Municipalities
<br />
<br />PIONEER PRESS
<br />
<br />even that good for a part-time
<br />job, she said, and felt more like a
<br />full-time job. She said that other
<br />mayors had resigned because
<br />they couldn't spend the time.
<br /> "Because we are a smaller
<br />city doesn't mean there is any-
<br />thing less to do," Loomis said.
<br /> In Eden Prairie, the City Hall
<br />has tightened its belt to the break-
<br />lng point, said Tyra-Lukens.
<br /> "People are stunned when
<br />
<br />they get me at home," she said.
<br />"They don't realize I don't have
<br />a office, ! don't have a secretary
<br />and I don't have a phone line. I
<br />don't have a fax machine or a
<br />computer.
<br /> "You heard my son's voice on
<br />the answering machine."
<br />
<br />Bob Shaw can be reached at
<br />bshaw@pioneerpress, com or
<br />(651) 228-5433.
<br />
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