Hennepin County Board approves 20% pay raise for the county administrator

Hennepin County Administrator David Hough is getting a 20% pay raise retroactive to the start of 2024.

The Hennepin County Board moved quickly to unanimously approve Hough’s pay hike at its regular meeting Tuesday. His new salary is $353,284 a year, up from $294,784.

Board Chair Irene Fernando said she was reviewing pay ranges for several county positions when she learned Hough’s contract had expired at the end of 2023. County leaders are finalizing a new contract, but Fernando said she felt it was important to bring the salary change to the board quickly.

“Given the expired contract, I prioritized this timing,” Fernando said of her request on Tuesday that the board immediately approve the increase. Typically, commissioners have at least a week to review board actions before a final vote.

The County Board controls the administrator’s salary; pay for most other positions is set by county officials. The change makes Hough the county’s highest paid employee, just ahead of Medical Examiner Andrew Baker, who earns $340,894.

The board didn’t just give Hough a raise. It increased the pay range for his position. The last time the pay range was updated was in 2018.

The pay increase puts Hough on par with other administrators with similar responsibilities in jurisdictions of similar size, Fernando said. For instance, a salary study she provided shows the pay range for the Minneapolis city operations officer tops out at $345,331.

Hough oversees a county workforce of nearly 10,000 and an annual budget of almost $2.7 billion.

He has one of the state’s best-paying government jobs. The governor’s salary is set at $149,550, but Gov. Tim Walz takes a smaller one; state commissioners’ salaries top out at $187,314.

Hennepin County is Minnesota’s second-largest government after the state bureaucracy. It is the 33rd largest county in the U.S. in terms of population with nearly 1.5 million residents.

Hough has worked for Hennepin County a long time. Hough was appointed administrator in 2013; his career with the county began in 1982 as a law clerk.

Commissioners made it clear they want him to stick around.

“We are so lucky to have him,” said Commissioner Marion Greene . “I’m thrilled to approve this.”

Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde said Hough led the county through the pandemic and helped leaders obtain and wisely spend state and federal relief funds.

Commissioner Kevin Anderson added: ”I cannot imagine doing this job without administrator Hough.”