Do the Mayor and City Council Deserve a Raise, or a Pay Cut?

It's budget time at Burnsville City Hall, and on Tuesday Mayor Elizabeth Kautz and her cohorts on the city council will consider something near and dear: Their own city salaries and benefits.

At present, the mayor earns $1,000 per month. Each council member draws a monthly salary of $700. From 2009 to 2011, elected officials in Burnsville also received a stipend ($35 for each "extra meeting" they attended). 

In addition to drawing a salary, the mayor and council currently can enroll in the city's health and dental insurance program (the same plans that part-time, 20-hour a week employees receive) and are eligible for retirement benefits (the city will match contributions, which max out at up to 5 percent of their total city salary). 

Elected officials have not gotten a raise since 2009. However, their current salaries are significantly higher than a decade ago. The mayor's monthly paycheck has increased 17.5 percent increase since 2001, when her salary totalled $851 a month. The council also garnered a 16.3 percent raise over the eight-year period between 2001 and 2009.

For the most part, the salaries given to Burnsville's elected officials are comparable to others in the metro area. To see how their salaries compare to elected officials in neighboring towns, check out the graphs above.

If the mayor and council alter their salary and benefits, Minnesota law requires that they do so before the November election, when the mayor and Council Member Mary Sherry face re-election.

What's your take? Should they cut or cash in? Why?