City Manager Up for Potential Pay Increase

City Manager Craig Ebeling may soon get a raise — his first since the national economy fell to pieces in 2008. Council Members Dan Kealey, Mary Sherry and Mayor Elizabeth Kautz informally agreed to a $2,691 bump in annual base pay. If officially approved that will bring Ebeling's annual salary to $137,241 per year. 

Council Member Dan Gustafson was not present at the meeting, Ebeling's annual performance review, which took place last Saturday.

In an interview after the meeting, Sherry explained that the city's financial struggles began in 2008, when the state of Minnesota abruptly pulled $3 million in aid out of Burnsville's budget to solve a shortfall of its own. After that, the effects of the national recession began to erode the city's property tax revenues. 

For the following 24 months, the city instituted a pay-freeze for all non-union employees, including Ebeling, who declined salary increases until the storm passed. As the crisis lingered the city cut positions as well.

When it came time to budget for 2011, the council felt the city was finally out of the woods, Sherry said. This year non-union employees were granted a modest pay increase. Kautz and the other council members felt that Ebeling also deserved a reward for a job well-done during tough times.

"These last two years — '09 and '10— have been very difficult years and you have achieved with our employees some extraordinary things," Kautz said. "One thing I can say for sure is that…even when we made those cuts, even when we had a zero increase, yes there was some quietness (among the employees). They may have been sad but morale was strong at city hall." 

Initially, Kautz's recommendation was a good deal higher than 2 percent. Ebeling presently makes $134,550 a year. At the outset, Kautz proposed a 6 percent overall increase in Ebeling's salary, which would be staggered in three installments over the rest of the year: $2,691 retroactive to Ebeling's hiring anniversary, April 7, another installment of $2,744 more by Oct. 7 and a final bump of $2,801 by Jan. 1 of 2012. All told, the mayor's preliminary proposal would have increased Ebeling's salary to $142,786.

Kealey said that he appreciated Ebeling's efforts and was impressed by his performance, but would find it hard to justify a 6 percent increase to the public.

However, Kautz argued such an increase was a necessary step in the city's succession planning. The city will one day have to find a replacement for Ebeling, who wis approaching retirement. The mayor reasoned that comparable cities in the Twin Cities metro area pay their lead administrator much more — $142,817 on average— and that the gap made Burnsville less attractive as a potential employer. 

Kautz added that it would not be equitable to catch up with the rest of the pack by increasing the city manager's base pay after Ebeling's retirement.

"Our employee has done exceptional work and he has carried out everything we asked him to do over the last two years. As we look to be competitive, I think it would be unfair of us to bump the salary when he's gone, when he's done the work," Kautz said.

Sherry felt that this was the wrong approach, though she agreed with Kautz that the city would have to pay more to attract top talent for the city manager's post.

"That's not the argument I want to make," Sherry said. "When you compensate somebody you look at the complexity of the job, you look at the orders from the board of directors, and number of employees they have to supervise," Sherry said. "I think we're actually below what a comparable private industry position would pay."

"Personally I feel that (Ebeling) is underpaid," Sherry concluded.

Ultimately, those present agreed that a smaller, 2 percent increase would be more appropriate — for now. Sherry said that the council will reconsider Ebeling's salary in January of 2012, when the rest of the non-union staff will be reviewed for salary increases.

Any change to Ebeling's salary is still under consideration. The matter will come before the council again at its next meeting on June 7.