You get what you pay for

Star Tribune: November 06, 2007 – 5:51 PM: Paul Levy: Minnesota suburbs feel pressure of salary cap

The Blaine city manager's job pays nearly $140,000 in salary -- more than similar positions in Edina, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Park and Minnetonka. Yet, in its national search for a city manager, Blaine may not be offering enough.

'We're low,' Blaine Mayor Tom Ryan said recently. 'We're never going to catch up with cities like St. Louis -- and that's who we bid against for a manager.'

Blaine has had an opening since Ron Wood resigned as manager Aug. 2. But if the competitive market for prospective city managers is changing, the rule governing Minnesota cities hasn't. The salary Blaine is offering -- $139,817 -- is the maximum it can pay under the nation's only known statewide cap, an oft-debated ceiling that limits salaries local governments can pay.

With the general exception of school superintendents, the maximum salaries of top local officials is 110 percent of the $120,303 salary the governor earns, plus an annual consumer price index adjustment.

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