The Minneapolis Charter Commission may look at making the Minneapolis City Council part time, re-examining how much council members are paid and changing the way they’re elected.
Minneapolis Charter Commission discusses cutting City Council pay and making them part time
The commission chair also wants to look at having some council members elected from a wider area, with some at-large members.
The Charter Commission, an appointed body that has a role in how the city is governed, re-elected Peter Ginder as its chair Wednesday. Ginder said during the Wednesday meeting that the commission might want to look at “just in general, City Council.” Specifically, the council’s salary and where it ranks compared to other governmental entities, whether the council should be full or part time, and other methods of allocating council members.
Any changes like that would have to be made via a ballot question submitted to voters to amend the city charter.
Ginder is a retired deputy city attorney who briefly stepped away from the Charter Commission in 2022 when he was tapped by Mayor Jacob Frey to be interim city attorney. He retired in 2016 after more than three decades working for the city.
How much they’re paid
Currently, the council’s 13 members are full time, and paid nearly $110,000 a year. A 2023 report found Minneapolis council members are paid more than most of their peers in comparable cities across the nation, whose median salary was $81,330.
The report, commissioned by the council, found the Minneapolis mayor, with an annual salary of nearly $141,000, is paid less than peers. The council voted to leave the salaries unchanged for at least two years.
How they’re elected
Council members are now elected by ward, as opposed to representing a wider district, or at-large — representing the entire city.
Most Minnesota cities have at-large city councils, but most home-rule charter cities (such as Minneapolis) vote for council members by ward, which supporters say increases local control.
Last year, lawmakers passed a bill allowing statutory cities to switch to election of ward-based city council members rather than just at-large members. Before that, only home-rule charter cities could vote for council members by ward.
Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, sponsored the legislation, saying wards give each area of a city more direct representation. Greenman, a voting rights attorney, said during debate on the bill that minority populations or communities with 40% of votes may never elect a candidate of their choice if they’re elected at large.
Council Member Jason Chavez released a statement saying, “It’s disheartening to hear about continued attempts at power grabs by unelected bodies. This [will] only benefit wealthier areas of Minneapolis and further marginalizes areas who struggle with poverty and are home to Black, Indigenous, communities of color and immigrant communities.”
What’s the Charter Commission?
The 15 members of the Charter Commission are older and whiter than the City Council, and the commission has clashed with the council in recent years.
The commissioners are not elected; they are appointed by the Hennepin County chief judge, and in the past, council allies have threatened to change state law so commissioners must be elected.
The commission blocked the council from letting voters decide whether to strip the Minneapolis Police Department from the city charter in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s police killing. The commission exercised its authority to take more time to review the council’s proposed charter amendment, effectively keeping it off the ballot in 2020. A similar proposal made the ballot in 2021, and voters rejected it.
What else might they do?
The Charter Commission is also considering changing the city charter — which is akin to a constitution — to conform with the changes to government structure made in 2021 to give the mayor more authority over departments.
Ginder suggested the commission may do surveys to get feedback on how the new government structure is working.
The commission chair also wants to look at having some council members elected from a wider area, with some at-large members.