Jan 08 Wanted: New Ramsey County Commissioners

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
RAMSEY COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION
When: Monday, January 11, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: City of Little Canada Council Chambers
515 Little Canada Road East
Little Canada, MN 55117

The Ramsey County Charter Commission is considering an amendment to the Ramsey County Home Rule Charter. This amendment relates to the salary of the seven (7) elected County Commissioners.

The tentative amendment being considered is Option A or Option B:

• OPTION A:
  “Should the Ramsey County Home Rule Charter be amended so that a salary ordinance increasing Ramsey County Commissioners salaries by more than five percent (5%) shall be subject to an automatic referendum and shall not be effective until approved by a majority voting at a referendum?”
• OPTION B:
  “Should the Ramsey County Home Rule Charter be amended so the annual salary of Ramsey County Commissioners on January 1, 2011 and reassessed every year thereafter shall not exceed the current median annual income of a Ramsey County Household as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey)?

The salary for a Ramsey County Commissioner is $82,400 ($84,975 for the Board Chair) for 2010. (Ordinance 2008-210 and Resolution 2009-174). According to the American Community Survey, the estimated median income in 2008 of a Ramsey County Household was $52,480.

The Ramsey County Charter Commission will hold a public hearing to give the public an opportunity to comment on this proposed amendment and to present any other ideas for the indexing and defining the compensation of County Commissioners. 

After the public hearing, the Ramsey County Charter Commission will decide whether to place a question on the ballot at the November 2010 general election. The threshold for a ballot question passing is more than 50% of the Ramsey County voters who vote on the question.

If you are unable to attend the hearing, we encourage you to submit your comments and ideas via email to the Charter Commission at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

In addition letters can be addressed and mailed to:
Ramsey County Charter Commission
250 Courthouse, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard
St. Paul, MN 55102
or by calling 651-266-8014.

Cross-posted at Sue Jeffers' KTLK Blog.